Musical Heart
by TheFluidThespian
Summary: Yuri Ryota's life with the wealthy wasn't always a dream come true. With an abusive step father giving him a world of pain and no pleasure, all he can do to pass the agony is play the strings on his violin. Though while grabbing the attention of the Host Club, his musical personality and good looks not only attracts the girls, but the Vice President of the club as well.
1. Chapter One

**The following story contains-**

 **-Mild Language**

 **-Slash**

 **-Mild romantic activity(ies)**

 **-Mentions of/and child abuse (TRIGGER WARNING)**

* * *

I flinch as I feel my little brother's finger gently brush across the fresh mark on my back. "Sorry," He murmured.

"It's fine," I say, and he continues to rub his finger across my new scars with an antibiotic. As he finishes up, I hear him sigh wearily, "I'm finished with them. Can I do something else?"

"No. But thanks for helping me get back there. I can do the rest."

Daichi's hand pulled away from my back. I stood and walked over to the bathroom counter to wrap my torso with bandages. I could sense my five-year-old-brother's eyes were on me, observing the entire process. As soon as I cut off the end of the bandage, I reached over for my white button up shirt laying away not too far away from me. "Yuri," Daichi began, "Is dad beating you up because of me?"

I turned around to face him while at the same time buttoning up my shirt, "N-No. Why?"

"He screams at you and says you should be more like me." Those deep blue eyes sunk into shame. I finished buttoning the cuffs and I walked over to him, crouching down and putting my hands on his shoulders. "It's got nothing to do with you. Okay?" I gave him a reassuring smile, but that only seemed to make him sadder.

"It's not fair though," He shook his head, "He's supposed to love you like he loves me. You're not even doing anything wrong. Are you?"

"In his eyes... Yes."

"And I'm doing what's right for him?"

"Please don't worry about it," I sighed, "I just want you to worry about yourself and what's right for _you_."

When he didn't respond, I moved one of my hands to cup his chin, gently making him look up at me, "Okay, Daichi?"

"S-Sure..." He murmured, and it was a good enough answer for me. I rose to my feet and walked back to the counter to finish up dressing in my school attire. I tied my tie around my neck and shrugged on my pale-blue blazer as the finishing touch. I tugged at the collar to make myself a bit more presentable before smiling down at Daichi again. He opened the bathroom door, and the two of us got out. "See you later, Yuri," He said, yawning a bit, and I frowned, remembering that he didn't have to be at the preschool until later, and he woke up early due to my step-dad's curses and shouts at me as he gave me swift hits to my body with his belt.

I manage to smile again, "I'll see you soon too. Now how about you get some sleep, baby brother."

"Okay..." I ruffle his hair before he began to head back to his own room. Until he closed the door, I turned around only to bump into one of my step-father's housemaids. At the contact, I grunt softly in pain. "Yuri," the maid said with concern, I'm... Terribly sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," I force yet another friendly grin, my mouth sort of began to get sore from forcing smiles all the time. Instead of saying anything else, she walked off, carrying her basket of towels, sheets, and clothes. I, too, walk away without saying anything. The halls were slightly dim, being almost seven in the morning. I stopped by my room to get my messenger bag and violin, making sure everything was in its proper place. Fortunately, the stringed instrument was still in its case and my folders, books, and notebooks were still bundled perfectly in my bag. I swept them into my arms, shrugging my bag over my shoulders and carrying the violin case in my other hand.

I walked down the stairs, being greeted by a few other "early birds". One of them even said that they had breakfast for me, which I denied. Normally I would've accepted having my morning meal before I left for school, but my appetite has changed since my step-dad came into my life. When I approached and opened the door, a fresh, early spring morning breeze brushed against my face. The blue sky was beginning to brighten as the sun rose further up from the trees, and the door behind me shut with a soft thud. There would've been a car parked in front of the house, and the driver would've been ready to drive me to my school. But around here, my step father tells everyone what to do, even the driver that usually parked here every morning. If he's not coming, then that could only mean... Screw it. You get the drill.

To make this long story short, he hates me. Hates my behavior. Hates my guts. He mostly hates the road I'm walking on, and as said before I own a violin, given by my deceased father. I love playing it, but to him it's a waste of time, and I should do more of what he's doing. Which for the record, is boring as hell. He works as an investment banker, which of course makes him a lot of money. It ran through the family, or at least his. Though I already had a passion for the violin before he married my mom when I was ten. Then almost a year after, my mom passed away weeks after giving birth to my little brother, Daichi. He became more aggressive towards me soon after, I guess because she wasn't there to defend me if there were any red flags. Now every few weeks, I deal with his verbal abuse and beatings. Sometimes it can happen after anything at anytime, and when I mean anytime, I really mean it. Whether I do something wrong or not, his abuse can occur randomly like this morning; I finished up taking a shower, and when I left the room... Well, really no explanation needed.

* * *

As the sun got higher into the sky, I saw more boys dressed in the same uniform as I was in. Some girls in long, yellow dresses walked alongside them, happily chatting about their weekend and how they were looking forward to the day ahead. From the corner of my eye, I saw a few girls whispering to each other and one of them pointed at me. They probably noticed the dark bruise on my eye, which I also received this morning. On instinct I looked at them, and they giggled and blushed. I wanted to roll my eyes, but just didn't find the need to do that.

When I looked ahead, I saw that I was at the school I'd be attending for the rest of the year. Ouran Academy. _"A school for the children of the rich and famous."_ Or so I've heard. I wouldn't call my step dad "famous", but he is "filthy rich". This is my first time attending such a big school. From what I've also heard, there are five divisions here, and it's likely that most of these high school students have been here since they were toddling pipsqueaks. I've only been here for a few weeks, and I already had a few girls giving me looks, in a good way though. Hell, even I get checked out by the some of the guys. One girl I sit next to, whose name is Aiya, is in my first class and she nudges close to me and talks and asks more about my life rather than the work we were supposed to be doing. Today was once again one of those days when she really couldn't keep her mouth closed no matter disinterested I looked in having a conversation. Soon, just to get out of her gossip, I purposely slid my pencil off of my desk. But when I reached down to get it, I noticed two orange-haired-twins across from me, eying me, one whispering to the other. I knew their names. _I think it was... Hikaru and Kaoru?_ I didn't bother to know which one was who, but they shared the same mischievous look in their eyes, which I didn't exactly enjoy looking at. So quickly, just to break the stare with them, I picked up my pencil and tuned myself back into Aiya's conversation.

Finally, when the class ended, the day proceeded and went by until the school hours were over. Mostly after school, I'd go into one of the music rooms to practice a piece or two on the violin. The two of the music rooms I planned to play in were full and noisy. The kids with instruments were mostly chatting rather than playing, and I didn't want to feel awkward with being the only one playing an instrument. I sighed. _What's the point of a music room in this school if no one's even playing._ I closed the door. _Maybe if I could find some place quiet. Like an empty hallway. There's bound to be at least one around this big of a school._ _Wouldn't hurt to do a little bit of exploring, I guess._ I walked further down the music part of the building, which grew more quiet as I approached an empty staircase, looking as if it hadn't been stepped on in ages as I could see specks of dust laying idly on each step. As I walked towards the top, the silence was dead, and all that could be heard were my footsteps. For a while, I walked down a bright hall with no doors. I haven't even been at this part of the school. When the end of the corridor came, I was standing in front of a door. Hanging above it was a sign that said, _Music Room #3._ There wasn't any sound being heard from the other side, and when I opened the door, no one was inside. Though it didn't look like a music room, I gave it an exception since it had a large grand piano in the corner. I cheered mentally. _I found my little practice room to call my own._ I shut the door behind me and set up in the middle of the room. I opened the case and pulled out the violin and the bow.

Shortly after tuning the strings and setting up my music notes to the starting page, I was ready to play this piece for the upteenth time this week. But as I set the bow on the strings, I was once again startled by the door opening. This caused me to accidently play a note and to turn my attention to some... Good looking guys. They were talking for a moment until they all stopped to turn their attention to me. The first kids I recognized were those twins from my first class. Then there was a tall one, who looked like he was a bit old to be going to high school. He had short spiked hair, and on his shoulders was a blonde, much shorter kid that looked like he was six, and he was holding a pink stuffed rabbit. The kid in front of them, again looked somewhat like an adult, wore glasses and his neat-casual hair was raven black like mine. Finally, there was one who looked like he was his right age. His hair was almost all over the place and dyed in a natural, yellow-pale blonde.

After staring at each other long enough, the tall blonde spoke with a sweet smile, "Well, it looks like we have an early client."

"Isn't it that kid from earlier?" One of the twins said, and the other said, "Well that's obvious since he's the only one at this school with a black eye."

"Woah, what happened?" The six-year-old-looking-kid commented, "Who did that to you?"

"Uh... Er..." I stammered, "I'm sorry. Was this room already reserved?"

"It always has been by us," 'Glasses' explained, and he looked at me even closer, "You must be new here. Welcome, Yuri Ryota."

"How did you-"

"He knows everyone and everything." The twins spoke at the same time, and I set my violin down when I realized it was sitting on my shoulders the entire time.

"And you guys are-"

The tall blonde stepped up and placed a hand behind my back, pointing at each student starting from the left, "Pay close attention. Over there is our 'Strong silent type', Morinozuka, we call him Mori-senpai, we have Haninozuka, also referred to as Honey-senpai. He's our 'Boy Lolita'."

I wanted to speak up; Wanted to tell him to slow down. Nonetheless, he nagged on, pointing at the boy in glasses, "The 'Shadow King', Kyoya, the 'Little Devils', Hikaru and Kaoru…"

"Uh, which one is-" I couldn't finish my sentence as I could feel his hand slide down my waist, turning me around swiftly so I could be facing him. He had a hand under my chin, making me look up into his purple eyes, "And I'm Tamaki. But you can call me 'King'." The way he said that made me turn red and feel heated, and before I could pull away, another boy came in through the door, dressed the same as us, "Sorry I'm late, guys."

"Not to worry," Tamaki commented, turning to me, "And that would be our newest addition, Haruhi. He's our natural type."

"Okay, okay, that's good to know," I chuckled a bit and pushed away from him before I could get aroused in any way. My palms were beginning to sweat and I bent over to put my violin away before I dropped it.

"You're a violinist," Tamaki commented, "I play the piano myself, you know. But I bet you're really amazing on those strings."

"Oh, thank you," I said, feeling a shiver run down my spine in the wrong sort of way as I strapped the case and picked it up, "Well, I should probably go now-"

"Now hold on," He caught me before I could go anywhere, "Kaoru and Hikaru told me about a boy with a bruise on your eye like yours, Ryota. Though even everyone in this school can see past that."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a man with beauty!"

"Excuse me?"

"And no man like us should be wasting our looks on nothing. Therefore, the Host club was born!"

"Host club?"

"You see, Yuri. The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as the Ouran Academy's elegant playground for the super-rich and beautiful. Yuri, I would welcome you and your good looks to be apart of this!"

"Um..." I backed away from him and slowly made my way towards the exit. Though I was only stopped to meet an energetic "Honey-Senpai". "Oh come on, Yuri-chan!" He cheered and grabbed my arm, spinning me around to make me feel nauseous, "If you join, I promise there will be plenty of cake!" _Yuri-chan?_

He let go of me and I nearly lost my balance until Hikaru and Kaoru swept in, grabbing me by the arms again and holding me up, speaking at the same, time, "If you join you won't regret it."

They let go and I was once again nearly losing my balance, but I faced them anyway until my hand touched the door, "I really do appreciate it guys, but I don't know…"

I tripped again, only to fall into the arms of one of the other hosts, and when I looked up, Kyoya was the one holding me from falling flat on my face. With one arm he held me, and with the other he pushed his glasses further up his nose. I caught myself staring into his eyes. God, those sweet, beautiful eyes! They were gorgeous, dammit! A small grin stretched on his lips,

"Joining this club is of course recommended, Yuri."

Then I felt a pair of fingers wrap around my waist, pulling me out of Kyoya's arms. When I looked I saw it was "Mori-senpai". When he let go, I felt my face getting warmer as my back touched the door. I kept my eyes on all of them. They are very handsome men. Although Haruhi gave me a little bit of mixed feelings. My hand struggled for the door handle and when I finally found it, Tamaki spoke again, "The door is always open to you, Yuri Ryota."

I turned the door handle and didn't waste any time getting out. The door shut loudly and I didn't notice I was holding my breath the entire time. I gasped in a new breath of oxygen and took deep breaths, beginning to walk away from the music room. I had never felt so flushed before. _What just happened? What did I just do; staring dumbly into his eyes like that?!_ I rubbed my hand against my forehead, already beginning to drip beads of sweat. _Maybe I'll just go home._ Though it was hard to get their faces out of my head, especially Tamaki's words that were spinning around on repeat. I looked out the window, seeing my red, bruised faint reflection. _Does he really think I have the looks? That's actually… Kind of him to say, I guess._

I finally looked away, turning my focus to my feet instead. _Forget it. I bet he tells that to all the boys and girls._

On the other hand, it seems as if they really want me to join that club. _To make it popular I assume. Who knows?_


	2. Chapter Two

For a while now, I sat poking at my chicken and peas. The dining table was really silent, even though it was really just Daichi, my step dad, and I. When I gazed over at Daichi, he had his chin resting on the table, nibbling slowly at the lonely little pea that was stuck on his fork. It looked like he could go to bed early tonight. "Daichi," I hear my step dad begin, as if to initiate a conversation this awkward silence, "Talk to me, what happened today? Anything fun?"

"No..." He grumbled, "It was the same thing as always. We sang songs, read books, ate snacks... It was boring..."

"Oh, Daichi. That's only the easiest part of being a kid. By the time you reach kindergarten, then the hard work begins. Oh, and Yuri."

I straightened up and looked at him, addressing clearly, "Yes, sir?"

"I remember your mother saying that you never went to preschool."

"I didn't need to. My dad taught me everything I needed to know. I was alright with it."

"He even taught you how to strangle rats. You're definitely _alright_ with that."

 _I bet he doesn't even know the difference between a strangled rat and an E string._

As he finished his comment, one of the maids walked in, "Sorry to interrupt, sir. But we have a visitor. He said he specifically wanted to see Yuri."

The old man glanced over at me before turning back the maid, "Well he has a pair of legs, send him in!"

"Of course."

 _See me? Who'd want to see me?_ Even Daichi suddenly seemed a bit excited about this visitor. Anyone new in the home, and he's immediately up and ready to meet. I kept my eyes on the door, and within a few seconds… One of the hosts from earlier walked in through the door. _He was referred to as the "Shadow King", I think._ "Oh, uh… K-Kyoya, right?" I stood up, sizing him up as he stood a foot away from me holding a black folder in his hand.

"You know this kid?" My step father questioned, and I could almost hear his brow furrowing as he glared down at the both of us.

"I actually just met him today."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Kyoya nodded at him before walking over to me with a black folder in his hand. He handed it to me, and my mouth was still open from the surprise. I stammered again, "H-How did you know where I live...?"

"I have my sources, Yuri," He said, keeping that kind smile on his lips, "But you left your music folder in the room before you left. You must've been too eager to get out today."

"What- Oh y-yeah..." I manage to laugh.

"We'd still welcome you to our club, as a client _or_ host. Of course if you're still interested."

"I'll think about it. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem." He looked at his watch, "Well, I should be going now. Goodnight, Yuri."

He turned around and left before I could say anything else. When I turned around, Daichi was standing, palms flat on the table and having a big open mouthed smile on his face. "That guy seems nice," He said.

"More like a creep," Our superior muttered, "He knew where we lived. Yuri, does he keep track of where everyone lives?"

"Um... I don't know... I only talked to him today." The rest of my words drifted off and I went upstairs to put this way in my room. As I scaled up the stairs, I opened up the folder to see if they took anything while it was still sitting on the floor. But as I opened it, the first thing that showed up in front of all my sheets of music was another piece of paper, written in cursive saying, _Come join us, Yuri!_

The hosts' names were written on it. Honey's was signed in pink, Mori's in dark blue, Hikaru's in light blue, and Kaoru's in orange while Kyoya's was dark purple and Tamaki just had his name signed in white with black outlines.

As I got to my room, I tucked my folder in my armpit and used both hands to crumple the little happy cheerful note. Then I tossed it in my trash bin next to my desk, or I tried to at least. I ended up missing, and I set my folder on my desk. Not long after I crashed down on my bed and decided to skip dessert. I wasn't very hungry and I didn't have much a sweet tooth either. I just wanted to rest my sore body. It's been aching all day and my bandages were really starting to itch. _Oh. Bandages._

I stood back up, making sure the door was closed so I could disrobe. I only threw my shirt off, and I slowly began to peel off the bandages. Some parts were soaked up in my blood, but the scars at least stopped bleeding. I threw them into the trash, actually making it in this time. Though my eyes again gazed over at the crumpled up paper that landed not too far from the small trash bin. I don't know how long I was looking at it. It was really silly, but I just couldn't take my eyes off of it.

 _I guess it wouldn't hurt to make some friends._ I hummed in thought, tapping my foot against the ground with my arms crossed. _But I'd only be there to entertain girls..._ After giving it one good look, returned to my bed, pulling the covers over my body and attempting to clear my mind of the event that occurred.

* * *

The music room full of students was noisier than the day before, and by that, I really meant that more kids were playing loud enough, giving me the perfect opportunity to practice a simple song composed by Mozart when no one was really listening. Though as I flipped through my folder for that song, I realized that the first page was missing. A feeling of panic stabbed at my stomach, shortly followed by relief. _It's probably in that music room._ I stood up, shrugging the strap of my bag over my shoulder as I rose from the chair, leaving the noisy room and making my way past all the noisy students who were standing in the halls like a herd of cows. In annoyance, I gently pushed my way through, walking and dodging students until I came to a staircase that no one rarely seems to be walking up. Then there was the empty hallway that lead straight to Music Room #3. From where I stood, I could hear the squeals and giggles of girls from the room. I let out a heavy breath before setting my hand on the handle.

 _Just like walking into a classroom. Only you're late._ I twisted the door open, peering through like a shy little kitten. The hosts were in there, sitting and chatting with the girls. I could see that Honey was mostly eating large slices of cake with his stuffed bunny sitting beside him, and the girls for whatever reason thought that was cute. _What?_ I silently stepped in, closing the door slowly behind me as if I wasn't trying to get caught as no seemed to notice me just yet. _Now where did I leave that piece?_ I walked into the middle of the room, still trying not to be a distraction as my eyes scanned the floor and on the empty tables. _God, it better be in here._ I finally got on my hands and knees, looking under the tables and under the couches, looking for anything that simply looked like a flat piece of paper.

"Um… Excuse me?" At the sound of the sudden voice, I jumped up, only to bend back over immediately after my head came into contact with the table. I let out a soft grunt, covering the throbbing area with the palm of my hand as I stood up, looking to see where that voice came from. Standing a foot away from me was a girl who looked as if she were in a higher class. "I apologize," She gasped, covering her mouth a bit, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, no, it's alright," I forced a smile, rubbing my hand on the back of my head in attempt to dull the throbbing pain.

"Are you sure?"

"Mm hmm. A bump on the head isn't the end of the world."

That earned a chuckle out of her, and there was a sudden glow of interest in her eyes, "Well, I just saw you over here, and I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Well, I'm actually new here."

"I see, and so it appears you've stumbled onto the infamous Host Club. Have you considered joining it?"

"What? Oh, I didn't come here to join it or anything, I just-"

"So you're a client?"

I paused slightly when I saw the glimmer of surprise in her expression. _What's she so surprised about?_ After I didn't say anything, she continued, "It's okay. I'm not… What's the word...? 'Disgusted' or anything, and I'm not trying to offend. It's just that it's not often the club gets male clients. If you ask me, I think you might be the first."

 _Male client? Wait a minute… She thinks I'm here for only the pleasures from the club? So... She thinks I'm a homosexual?_ I turned red, which really didn't help the situation, "Well, no- I'm not here for that either- I just left something here that I'm trying to find-"

"So, look who came back," At the sound of the sudden voice, I almost jumped. _This is not how I wanted it to turn out…_ "So did you finally decide to join the host club?" I couldn't tell if it was Hikaru or Kaoru who said that. I honestly may never know.

"Well why else would he be here?"

I wanted to say something until I saw Tamaki set the boys aside, looking down at me, "Well if it isn't our dear violinist! You've come just in time, friend. We're in business. So have you finally made your choice?"

"I just came to look for something," I spoke, maybe a bit too anxiously, "I think I left some sheet music here yesterday, and so far I'm not getting anywhere with you guys asking me if I'm going to join your stupid club."

Within a matter of seconds, Tamaki went from being a friendly ladies' man to a sensitive and insecure child sitting with his back turned in the corner, I guess right after I said 'stupid'. The twins didn't seem taken back though, in fact they appeared to be more amused by Tamaki's behavior as they silently snickered behind me.

"You know, this club really isn't that bad," The girl beside me began, looking slightly offended as well. But before she could go on to defending it, the twins came to her aid.

"Don't take it personal, miss."

"Yeah, he just hasn't been in the club long enough."

"But he's new here, so cut him some slack. He'll warm up here eventually."

"Oh my god... I never said anything about joining!" I said firmly, almost growling.

"You know you want to though-"

I was just about five seconds away from releasing my frustration, but it all melted away as soon as the corners of my eyes caught a glimpse of the main host in the corner. Finally turning over fully to look at him, not only did the corner grow gloomier and darker the more I stared at it, but I could feel a wave of regret splashing against my stomach. _Well, now I feel like a jerk._

Letting out a heavy sigh, I approached him, yet he didn't turn around to look at me. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped, it's just been a long day for me and..."

I heard him scoff distressfully, probably not too convinced that I meant it. _What else can I say?_ "Hmm… Okay, listen. I… I'll stay for today…"

This seemed to raise his spirits as he turned around, looking up at me with his puppy-dog eyes, "So you'll join after all?!"

"Um… Not exactly." Before I could wreck his spirits once again, I spoke once more, "But it's just to make sure that I'm actually going to like it. It's nothing personal."

He stood up, "Oh, you'll like it for sure."

"Yeah, sure…"

As the rest of my words drifted off, another girl approached the both of us, "Tamaki, is everything alright?"

"Of course, princess," He pushed me up a bit, "Oh, and allow me to introduce you to Yuri Ryota. He'll be a new member of our host club." She gave me a look, but I knew that her focus was on my black eye. Looking disgusted at first, I gave her a small smile, and she immediately lightened up, "Well it's nice to meet you, Yuri Ryota." _Oh wow. That was quick._

"It's a pleasure, um..."

"Maru."

"Nice to meet you, Maru."

"Now, Yuri," Tamaki began, "As a host here, you must do everything in your power to keep these women happy."

"I know-"

"Which also means being a perfect gentleman." He hooked Maru's hand with mine, "Now go on out there and show them what you can do!"

"Wait can't I just see what you guys do before-"

"Now both of you run along, alright?"

"But-"

"Oh don't be shy, Yuri," Maru began, "Let me introduce you to some of my friends!"

* * *

"So, Yuri, you're new here right?"

"Yeah."

I sat on the couch next to Maru, and across from us were two girls named Suki and Nori. So far, I was kind of heating up on the inside as I didn't know how I was supposed to make themselves feel enjoyed. Do I just... Sit and talk?

"Where did you go before this?"

"Um…It was just a regular public school." It was really a bit more complicated than that, but I didn't want to bore them with some lousy backstory. Truth be told, I only spent half a year in that school until my step dad decided that the kids there were a "bad influence" (You know, everyone in that age started getting into drugs and all those other extreme activities), and then decided to have me homeschooled. The woman he hired was one of those educators that would smack my hand with a ruler stick if I wasn't paying attention or if I did something wrong. That was until a client at his work mentioned Ouran, and after hearing other positive reviews about it, he had me enrolled, saying how it'll make me into a successful person by the time I graduate.

"A public school?"

"Was it full of commoners?"

"What kind of kids attended there?"

"There were some middle class students," I answered, almost stuttering due to my surprise at the instant rush of questions. "But for the most part, they were all really well-behaved. Some were a little wild at times, but nothing too extreme."

"Really?" Nori began, "I never would imagine another commoner as calm and controlled as Haruhi."

 _Haruhi...? Oh yeah, he's in my class with those twins._ Before I could talk any further, sure enough, Haruhi came strolling around the corner with a tray in hand, full of dishes and napkins, "Hey, ladies? Any dishes here I could take, or are you still working on your coffee?"

"We're still working on it, Haruhi," Maru hummed, blushing a bit, "Thanks anyway!"

As I caught myself literally staring at Haruhi, I could almost tell that something seemed... Different (Not the most descriptive word, but it's close enough, I guess). I wasn't just saying that because he was the only commoner attending here, but his appearance seemed rather feminine. Through the thick blazer and shirt, I could still see some curves, and that voice sounds almost too feminine. _Wait..._ I could feel something click for me as I realized that Haruhi was actually a girl. _Mischievous twins. Two childlike hosts. Now a female host. This club sure has everything._ Not knowing if I should say anything at all, I bit down on my jaw as the girls naively watched her walk away. _Do they know? Do the guys know?_

"So, Yuri," Maru straightened up, "I've been meaning to get to this, but you play the violin?"

"What? Me- Oh yeah, definitely," Almost distracted for a moment, I, too, straightened up and turned my focus back to the girls.

Then the interest in the girls' eyes lightened up, followed by a wave of questions that I also couldn't help but lighten up to.

"How long have you been playing?"

"Do you play with the orchestra here?"

"Who would you say are your favorite artists?"

 _Are they really interested in this? Who would've known?_ With a smile, I answered each question while feeling a mix of sentimentality and enjoyment. While answering how long I've been playing the violin, I couldn't help but think of my dad. I could almost hear his voice, teaching me about the violin's anatomy and the notes on each string. "My dad was a great teacher and composer," I continued, "He even tried to teach me how to play other instruments as well, but the violin really stuck with me the most."

"Your dad sounds like a great man," Suki commented, "Does he still play a variety of instruments?"

"He played them until the day he died..." I sunk down in my chair a bit, still keeping my smile, but it wasn't as nostalgic or soft as the one a few seconds earlier.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear."

"Um... It's fine, really. Sometimes I like to think that he's conducting a choir or orchestra of angels."

From their mouths, I could hear soft sounds of, "Aw..."

Though from behind me, this emotional moment of the girls was interrupted by soft, yet messy snivels coming from behind me. As I turned my head around, I could see Tamaki hugging tightly onto a small, pink cushion as he gazed at me with tear eyes from behind a couch. Somewhere in between those cries, I could make out words like, "That's so cute, but so sad at the same time...!"

At this, I couldn't help but chuckle, starting to feel a sense of enjoyment. _Maybe this club won't be so bad after all. I guess as long as I keep the girls interested and learn more about the guys, I can fit in just right._


	3. Chapter Three

**And so ends my final adjustments to the beginning. I'm sorry if this seems a bit rushed and messy in anyway. I was just really looking forward to keep writing the next chapters.**

* * *

"So, is it true?"

I looked over at Aiya, rubbing the boredom and weariness out of my eyes as I looked over at her, "Is what true?"

"You're in the host club now?"

I looked at the front of the room, making sure the algebra teacher wasn't fixed on us as he went over another problem on the board before whispering back, "Yeah."

Aiya's grin spread into a smile, as she cheered silently, "I knew it! I've heard the girls talking about a new addition to the club. I thought that they meant the commoner at first, but then they said how he's into Mozart and Beethoven. I just knew it was you! But I wanted to confirm it, you know?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I get it."

There was the soft chime of the bell, and as if everyone were in sync, everyone rose from their seats, backing up their notebooks before leaving the classroom, ignoring the last few words the teacher was saying. Aiya walked around me, but I still felt her eyes on me. I ignored it at first, but as I spun around, I only bumped into her. I let out a noise of surprise, but she didn't seem to mind as she kept her grin on her lips, "See you at Music Room Three." Shortly after she said that, she lifted her finger and tapped it gently on the tip of my nose before skipping off. I stayed frozen for a moment. _That was weird. Very weird, actually._ When I finally managed to move my legs, I walked with a heavy feeling in my stomach, as if an anvil was slowly making its way toward my intestines. Either way, it wasn't exactly enjoyable. _I didn't like that. I didn't like that at all._ _But why...? Maybe I just didn't like that from her, I mean we still barely know each other after all._ By the time I made it towards the music end of the building, I heard another pair of footsteps break the silence with mine. "Yuri! Down here! Wait up!" I looked back, seeing Haruhi run up the stairs to catch up with me. Staring at her once again, that finally distracted me from my mixed emotions, but only stirred up more questions.

"What?" She questioned, "Are you okay?"

"Um..." Trying to sound polite as possible, I spoke slowly, "Does everyone know that you're a... That you're a girl?"

She began to walk, which urged me to follow as she answered, "So, you know now too?"

"Pretty much..."

"Well, the boys know. Everyone else doesn't. Doesn't really bother me anyway. I made it clear to them that I didn't care if people saw me as a girl or a dude the first day I came here."

"So, then how'd you join the club?"

I could almost see her shudder, and she responded quietly in embarrassment, "This is how I pay off my eight million yen debt."

"Wait, seriously? What did you do?"

"Nothing I don't really want to relive. But if you could, I'd prefer you keep this secret between us. If word got out I was actually a girl, I'd find myself in a pretty awkward position."

"S-Sure thing." It was a perfect time to finish off my sentence as we approached the music room. Haruhi placed her hand on the handle, twisting it open. But instead of the normal music room, the entire place was decked out in as some tropical paradise. Literally. There were palm trees and tropical plants, and the room was surprisingly humid too. _This is quite a unique club._ In the middle of the room were the hosts, dressed in sarongs and other body jewelry. Haruhi and I stood there, completely speechless. I could feel a pool of saliva build up in my mouth just by looking at all of them, as they were all very good looking.

"Hey," I blinked twice when I heard Haruhi's voice in my ear, also seeing her fingers snap in front of me. It successfully brought me out of my daze and I swallowed back the drool. As she lowered her arm back to her side, a toucan landed on her head shortly before flying off. She growled a bit.

"There you guys are," Hikaru and Kaoru said, "You're so late."

"Never mind that," I said, "What's with all of this?"

"Huddling under a kotatsu table fearing the cold is nonsense!" Tamaki spoke, "And besides, the heating system we have here is the best!"

I heard Haruhi scoff.

"Do you have a problem with the way we run our club, Haruhi?" Kyoya spoke, still writing in that book of his, "Be careful what you say. You still owe us eight million yen, remember?"

Tamaki waved out a fan in front of my face, "Gentlemen don't bundle up in bulky clothing. It may be chilly early out there in the real world, but here at the club we want to surprise our chilly little kittens with a warm tropical paradise. Oh yes! We've turned this place into nirvana. A balmy tropical island of everlasting summer!"

"We've got your outfits prepared already," One of the twins said.

"No thanks," Haruhi spoke dully before walking away, and they looked at me next.

"Um- I'll actually pass, thank you," I spoke too quickly.

"Really, Yuri? You're not insecure, are you?"

"N-No. I'm just... I'm not too fond of those costumes."

Though it'd actually be a bit more comfortable to be wearing something like that, considering it's like ninety degrees in here, showing a lot of skin like that would mean people would see my scars and bruises. It's not only unattractive, but it'd raise questions. I saw Kyoya glaring at me from what he was writing, slight suspicion glowing in his eyes. I swallowed hard and looked away. By the time I looked back at him, he simply went back to what he was writing before. I was relieved he seemed to have let it go, but until we were in service, my stomach literally filled with dread.

* * *

When the Host Club opened for business, I sat with Aiya and Maru not too far away from where Tamaki chatted with his own clients. I took off my jacket and rolled up my sleeves at some point not long after I felt my insides burning from the humid heat.

"Why don't you wear the outfits that the others are wearing, Yuri?" Aiya questioned, "I'd bet you'd look really cute!"

"Oh..." I began, "I uh... Don't feel the need to wear something that exposes a lot of skin, especially in a school."

"So you're one that follows dress code?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The girls giggled, Maru saying, "You're really well-behaved."

 _Though it'd probably be a bit cozier to wear one of those ridiculous skirts than sit here sweating my skin off._

 _"_ Oh yes, I almost forgot to you ladies," From where I sat, I heard Tamaki make an announcement to the girls at his table, "Next week, the Ouran host club is sponsoring a party."

I blinked. _A party? This is my third day, and already there's a big event going to happen?_

Apparently Maru and Aiya had been listening too, as Maru squealed, "Oh my gosh, now that'll be something to look forward to!"

"Oh man, I don't think I can show up!" Aiya sighed, almost whining, "I've gotta go to some lame convention with my dad. If I could go however, I'd like to spend the entire evening dancing with you, Yuri." _Dancing?_

"The Cherry Blossoms should be 'blooming' by next week too! It'll be so colorful!"

I blushed a bit. I also thought back to the last time I actually danced with someone else. Well come to think of it, I never had danced before. _Crap..._

After spotting myself not saying anything, I manage to stutter without sounding hesitant, "Yeah, i-it'll be great."

* * *

Time flew by, and with the party in three or four days, I grew a bit antsy. Though I didn't want to admit I had no experience with dancing. I watched a few videos about formal dancing last night, but without a partner it was a bit difficult. I tapped my pen against my music sheet. We had just finished up service and before ending it there, we'd gotten a new delivery of tea sets, and the boy that delivered them was apparently was some client's fiancé that went by the name of Kanako. She seemed pretty anxious when he came in, and I found it a bit odd even though these two were engaged. Along the lines, I even learned that she apparently has a case of a "host-hopping" disease or something. Basically she chooses different hosts that she takes a liking to on a regular basis.

She was previously with Tamaki, and now Haruhi. When Kanako left, the hosts immediately began plotting a plan to cure this bizarre illness. I really took no plan in this I turned to the next page of the music piece. If I could just play my violin at the party, I wouldn't need to worry the whole dancing thing. But the music they've selected is only allowed for the Level IV orchestra, and of course being a first year and a host, that really couldn't be an option here. I stacked the sheets of music notes on top of one another before placing them in my folder, deciding to switch to a different subject in an attempt to take my mind off of the party for a while. For the record, that really didn't work.

"You've been awfully quiet today, Yuri," I heard Kyoya's voice across from me.

I looked up at him, "I'm always quiet for the most part."

"No. Not really. But that normally means you're thinking."

"Oh. Well... I-It's nothing." I hesitated a bit, and he obviously caught that, "Are you sure about that?"

Oh god. The way he was looking at me sent a bit of a chill down my spine; Almost as if he was staring straight through my soul. But it was kinda hot too, and his eye color fit in perfectly with that glare, and when I caught myself just looking at him, I also noticed I didn't say anything. He laughed again, "Come on, out with it. What's troubling you?"

"Well, just the fact that the party is coming up pretty soon- Like really soon, and I've got my ways with the ladies in the bag, but I can't even dance..." I spoke quietly but anxiously, turning red with embarrassment. Kyoya gave me a look, and I expected him to say something like, _"Are you serious?"_ Or _"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"_ But that surprisingly didn't happen. Instead he let a gentle sigh, almost like a hum, "Well, we do have a few days until the party." He stood up straight, sizing me up, "You're rather short, but I think I can still walk you through the basics."

"You're... Gonna teach me how to dance?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that a problem with you?"

"No! It's really not! I didn't mean for you to take it the wrong way but... I don't know. It's still a little weird for me... To be dancing with another guy- Or really with anyone."

"I'm only giving you a simple dancing lesson, Yuri."

I opened my mouth to say something else, but nothing came out. I let out a breath, "Alright, but you can't judge."

"I'll try not to," He pushed his glasses further up his nose, "Shall we?"

I only nodded before following him into another room. We began walking towards the center, where a ray of sunlight shined down on the floors and walls. "Okay," I sighed, straightening up my jacket.

"Ready?" Kyoya held out his hand, "Take my hand."

I hesitantly took his hand, wrapping it in mine. Already, my palm was getting sweaty against his own, which was surprisingly soft for how rough it looked as he wrote in his big black mysterious book. "The next hand goes on your partner's waist."

"Huh?!" I looked back up at him, feeling my face got hot and red, "But-"

"Don't be so shy." Kyoya was amused by my unsureness, and he moved my other hand down to his waist. "There, now this is how you should hold the person you'll be dancing with."

"Mm-hm. Okay." I felt every muscle in my body go rigid, scared that I was gonna screw up somehow.

"Let's focus on the footing now. Wherever my feet go, yours have to follow. Just make sure not to step on them."

I nodded, and as his right foot moved, so did mine. I was so focused the entire time on our feet that I didn't even know I was tensing up. There were a few parts where I almost tripped up. But I regained my footing once more as Kyoya kept walking me through each twist and turn. Soon enough, finally got with a rhythm with each step I took. Strings on the violin played in my head to match the pace, and it felt too relaxing for a moment that I nearly closed my eyes.

"Remember to look up and smile," Kyoya said. I mumbled in response and looked up to meet his eyes; A beautiful shade of brown and grey. Whereas mine are just all over the map, just like my footing as I tripped on my heel and fell back, pulling Kyoya down with me. I landed on my back, and grunted. Kyoya looked down at me with surprise for a split second, and we slowly began to process what position we were in. His hands rested on each side of my head (One of them clenching one of my hands), while his legs were straddled over mine.

I chuckled nervously, smiling dumbly, "We're still not judging right?"

Kyoya sighed through his nose, pushing his glasses up his face a bit, "You were actually doing rather well for the most part, for not having any experience. But you're not hurt are you?"

I looked at him for a moment, and he did the same. I finally shook my head, "No, uh... I'm alright..." I didn't know whether to call this awkward or not. Both of us didn't say anything to each other for what felt like forever. We just stared at each other, grinning at my small mistake. I honestly could stay like for a while. But I finally cleared my throat, and Kyoya seemed to have snapped out of his daze as well as I began, "But uh... Do you want to try again? Maybe, we could do this tomorrow if there's time?"

Kyoya shrugged, "Tomorrow wouldn't be so bad, and I don't think it'd hurt to skip a few services to practice-"

All of a sudden, bursting through the doors was a, not surprisingly, energetic Tamaki, "Kyoya, I need you and-" He stopped abruptly, looking at us, and I could've sworn I could feel my heart stop. Tamaki blinked, but remained silent. Kyoya didn't seem at all bothered by it, and he casually asked, "Yes, Tamaki, what is it?"

"Um..." He cleared his throat, "Anytime you're finished with... 'That'... I need you to help the twins write out that love letter for Toru."

"Ooh, so what's going over here?" Yet again, those mischievous boys peered over Tamaki's shoulder.

"Oh grow up you two," Kyoya finally got off of me, pushing up his glasses as he straightened up, "We just fell onto each other."

"Sure, sure."

I clenched my teeth in annoyance before looking up to see Kyoya's helping hand, "You're not just going to lay on the floor all evening, are you?"

I gently grabbed his hand, and I was pulled back onto my feet. I held onto his hand for a short moment, being able to feel that smooth skin before letting go. He walked away, and Tamaki looked at me, "Seriously though, what were you guys doing?"

"Dancing," I simply shrugged.


	4. Chapter Four

I was nearly there. The night of the party finally arrived, and I was running late to get over to the school due to being carried up with the guests my step-dad had over at the household. Apparently, he too was holding some sort of party, I guess for having a successful week at his job. While practically sprinting over to the school, I could almost feel myself heat up in the cold evening air. _By the time I get there, I'm gonna reek._ I switched the bag that had my "fancy clothes" in it to the other hand, and when I finally did get over to the school, everything was still being set up for the party. Some of the students were helping organize everything such as decorating the pillars, setting up food on the buffet and so on. Honey-senpai (That's right I said 'senpai') seemed to already be digging into the cake while Hikaru and Kaoru were helping hold up a girl that was trying to hang something that appeared to be very high. Then up on the steps were Kyoya and Tamaki, who were doing their own thing. I greeted Tamaki with a smile when our eyes met.

"Yuri-Chan!" I guess I should've expected Honey to be so energized as he leapt into my arms, "Doesn't everything look amazing! The cake here tastes really great too!"

"Are you sure you should be eating before the party, Honey?" I said.

"It's fine! I only had one slice!"

 _I beg to differ._

"Yuri!" Tamaki walked over, looking down at me, "Glad you could make it... But you're not dressed yet-"

"It's a pretty long story, Tamaki. I was in a bit of a rush, and…" I leaned a bit closer to him, almost whispering, "I don't smell like B.O. or anything, do I?"

I probably should've expected a somewhat unusual reaction from him, nonetheless, he responded, "Um… Not at all. Why don't you get changed real quick?"

Nodding, I walked up the steps where Kyoya was standing, writing in that black book. I saw his eyes glance over at me while giving me a small smile as his greeting. Something about that look sent shivers down my spine, sort of in a good way. I wasn't rude though, and I gave him a small nod. Then immediately, I looked away, literally feeling my face turning red. _For a normal greeting, he sure looked rather dashing._ I chuckled to myself, still blushing until I got to the changing rooms. It seemed silent at first until I heard the rustling of clothes behind one curtain. I froze for a minute. The curtains were touching the ground, and it made it impossible to tell who was behind which curtain. I just prayed I wouldn't walk in on who was changing as I approached the left curtain.

A bad idea...

I froze as I saw Haruhi's reflection in the mirror, and when she saw me, she too froze before turning around. She at least had some pants on as well as her tank top, but I immediately swept the curtain closed and covered my eyes with the palm of my hand. I groaned in embarrassment, "Sorry about that..." I could feel my face heat up from embarrassment.

"O-Oh, it's fine," Haruhi stammered, "I didn't hear you come in."

"Still..." I walked behind the center curtain.

"Don't worry about it. Tamaki-senpai already did it last week."

"Heh... Guess it'll take a little getting-used-to."

From outside, I heard Haruhi step out from the curtain, "Well, I'll see you down there, Yuri."

What I had to wear was really nothing special. There was just a dark red shirt with a black vest, pants, and a red tie. It was almost like I was dressed for a funeral. I quickly changed into the clothes. The only "touch-up" I've added was brushing my fingers through my hair to clear the strands of any knots as well as making sure I didn't smell too shabby after literally running all the way over here. I brushed open the curtain, breathing in and prepared for a long night.

* * *

"It is so good to see you here tonight, my little lambs," Tamaki's voice echoed throughout the ballroom before the lights flashed on, revealing a crowd of girls standing in their evening gowns with excitement on their faces, "The Ouran host club would like to bid you welcome."

Cheers rang through the crowd, and I bowed slightly as a greeting before placing my hands behind my back. As the squeals and claps died down, Kyoya took this opportunity to announce,

"As always, ladies, the host club members are here for your entertainment. So we invite you to dance to your heart's content. Based on her dancing skills, one lucky young lady will be chosen as tonight's queen. The queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king."

"Good luck to you, my darlings," I could sense Tamaki wink as he said that so-sweet comment, and of course the girls went wild. I could've sworn I saw one of them faint. Not that I'd blame them. If I saw a guy with the looks of anyone from this club, I'd probably faint too. Then again, being male, it'd most likely make the situation awkward. I straightened up a bit, _Focus now. Not too much longer and then I'd put my formal dancing to the test._ Over on the sidelines, the hosts were rambling off about some "fancy tuna" while the twins were coddling Haruhi like she was some pet. I sighed, leaning my hands against the railing as I spotted Maru up front and center. She waved ferociously and happily to get my attention, and I gave her a little wink. I guess I was doing something right because she gasped as her cheeks flushed a pure pink. I chuckled in the back of my throat. Maybe this night wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Not too long after, the hosts made their way to down to their clients, greeting them like they would on any other appointment. Maru let out a soft sigh, smiling as she admired the atmosphere and decorations of the ballroom. "Oh my gosh, Yuri!" She began, "Everything looks so lovely tonight!"

"Yeah," I agreed, "But I think you look lovelier." _Tamaki's acting and flirting really does pay off._

Somewhere when I said that, I could've sworn I felt every internal organ twist and turn. _That was really cheesy. Nice going, Ryota._ But Maru seemed quite pleased with that being said, her face turning more pink than before. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Kyoya glancing at me. When I turned to face him directly, he gave a small nod, either telling me I was doing well so far, or I'll do well when it came to the dance. Either way, I took it as a good sign.

After greeting the ladies here, we carried out the party like any other service. Of course the twins would carry out their fake, homosexual love for each other, Tamaki would express his fake love for his clients. The only thing that wasn't feigned was Honey's love for cake and his childlike kindness towards the girls. But I guess if the guests are happy with the service they're receiving, then I couldn't really complain anymore. The orchestra's tempo and tone changed from upbeat to a slow pace, a sign that it was time to put what I've learned to the test.

I cleared my throat silent enough and gently held out my hand to Maru, smiling at her as well,

"Maru, would you like to dance with me?"

She giggled, "Why would I ever say no? Of course I would!"

She took my hand, and I too let out a short laugh, amused by her happiness. The other hosts too had gotten into dancing with their clients, smiling down at them and enjoying every moment of the party. I took the pace slow, my eyes dashing to my feet to make sure they're stepping in the right places, and I'd gaze back up only to meet with my partner's smiling face. Just when I thought I was doing well, the snap of Tamaki's fingers snapped and he said aloud, "Alright, little lambs! I believe it's time to switch."

 _Did I practice this?_ Maru squeezed and intertwined our fingers, "I had such a fun time dancing with you, Yuri."

She broke away and turned around only to be dancing with Mori. _I guess I'm supposed turn around too._ Though as I did so, the person I gently latched my hands onto had slightly bigger ones than mine, and when I looked into her eyes…

 _Wait. His eyes!?_

I almost gasped and jumped back when I realized that Kyoya and I were holding onto each other. Girls on the sidelines got riled up over this, screaming and squealing with excitement. _Do girls really like this?_ Kyoya, no surprise at this point, kept an unreadable look on his face, as well as having that signature host smirk on his lips.

"Uh… Whoops?" I gulped.

"Hm," He chuckled, "Well, you always can't be perfect on your first dance."

I tried to think of something else to say, but when nothing came out, and then I found myself being spun around and gently pushed into another dance partner. When I glanced back at Kyoya, he was already with his next client. I tried so hard to brush that off. For a good full minute, I said nothing. All I could really think about was how stupid I must've looked by just staring at him dumbly like that. What made it seem worse for myself, the fact that I could practically feel myself _blushing!_

"Um, Yuri?" I gazed back at my dance partner, "Are you alright? You've been kinda quiet."

"What-? Oh, my apologies, miss," I nearly stumbled on my footing when I caught myself staying silent. _Stay calm. Just a mistake. It's not the end of the world._

* * *

Partner after partner, the night went on. I could've sworn every inch of me, from head to toe was dripping in sweat after waltzing for what seemed like forever. All those twists and spins made its way into my stomach, which shortly turned into nausea. _I wish I didn't drink so much punch._ I was relieved when the orchestra finally came to stop, and all of the ladies seemed quite pleased with the evening. After the girls cheered and clapped, all faded into silence until nothing but a 'clinking' of a glass was heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tamaki's voice began, "It is now time for us to begin the final dance of this evening's festivities."

The host club members opened the doors leading out into the courtyard, allowing the ladies to step out and see the entertainment we had planned for them. Still trying to catch my breath, I too had walked outside and joined the hosts. The nightly air was still cool, but bearable. "The last waltz of the night has been chosen by the host club for..." Tamaki continued, "This couple."

Standing out in the spotlight was Kanako Kasugazaki and Toru Suzushima. _So they found a solution to cure her host-hopping disease after all._ The two stood idly in confusion for a moment until Toru finally asked his lover if he could have this dance, which she accepted. As the orchestra played its final piece, the couple began to waltz to the melody. I sighed, relaxing and resting my arms on the thick, cement railing. The muscles in my legs loosened up after stepping around so much and the sweat on my forehead dried off midway through the dance. But even from where I stood, I could still hear Toru's faint words being addressed to Kanako, "I love you, Kanako. I've always loved you... And, I want you to be my wife."

Somewhere when he said that, I could feel my stomach sink. Not because I was grossed out or grew bored of hearing someone confess their love. Though I could recall something like this almost clearly. Similar words like his were being said, and a slow waltz was taking place as well. I closed my eyes, and the image became clear enough to recognize the faces in that memory.

There of course was a man and a woman, and the were dancing to slow waltzing music on a record player. Shortly after the music ended, the man bent down on one knee and taking the woman's hand, speaking passionately, _"You've made my life a happy one, my love. But I would be even happier if you stood by my side as my wife."_ When the tall lady glanced at me, I opened my eyes, noting how they were a lot dense than before.

 _Mom... That was you._

"Yuri-chan, are you crying?" Honey-senpai had straddled the railing and leaned in to get a look at my face. Then I let it slip. I _was_ crying. "What?" I dried off my tears, "No, I just... Got something in my eye."

"Aw, Yuri-chan!" The small host practically hopped into my arms and hugged me right there, "I don't know why you're sad, but don't cry! We're all here for you!"

"Honey..." My groan trailed off, but I still held him, finding some slight comfort as well.

"And now we'll announce the queen of the ball!" I didn't know which twin said what, but I looked up to see that each had a banana peel in their hand.

"Congratulations to Princess Kanako Kasugazaki!" The girls took a moment to applause the couple.

"And for her reward a kiss on the cheek from the king!"

Tamaki gave his flirtatious smirk to Kanako, "Are you ready?"

"Haruhi Fujioka will stand in for Tamaki!"

Both hosts seemed surprised, almost as if this wasn't planned out. Maybe it wasn't. I set Honey-senpai down to observe how this would play out.

"There's no way I can kiss her," Haruhi muttered.

"If you do it we'll cut your debt by one-third," Kyoya spoke. I looked over to see if she'd still be up for the small task, and judging by how she walked down the steps to Kanako, we took it as a yes. Tamaki seemed to be lost in thought, and it turned to be even more amusing as Honey-senpai questioned, "Hey, you don't think this is Haru-chan's first kiss, do you?"

I tried to hold back a laugh, and I covered it with my mouth as Tamaki literally leapt off the stairs to stop Haruhi from the kiss. But as he stuck the landing, he ended up stepping and slipping on a banana peel, only to push Haruhi's lips into Kanako's. I glanced at the twins, who seemed satisfied with their work. But I laughed it off. It really was quite hilarious, making me forget what had made me so saddened earlier.


	5. Chapter Five

_One Week Later_

"It was quite a night last week," I spoke to Jiro, our master chef of the house, "But the punch was good, the cake was good, and I'm just glad I could dance with more than one girl. Successfully, at least."

"And this was all sponsored by a host club?" He asked, looking away from his cooking pans to gaze questionably at me.

"Yeah."

"Interesting…"

"What is?"

"I know those are common, but a host club in a high school?"

"It's nothing inappropriate if that's what you're wondering."

That earned a chuckle out of him, and a smile out of me. "I'm glad I got to tell you this," I spoke softly, "Dad was barely listening to me when I told him about the club."

"He's a busy man, Yuri."

"Yeah, but you're listening to me now, and you're cooking like, what, a dozen crepes at once? Dad didn't even gaze up at me when I mentioned that what I do there is entertain girls."

He was silent for a moment, but nodded in agreement, "Got me there… Though speak of the devil, how would you like to have the first crepe of the day?"

I knew I couldn't say know to a freshly cooked crepe, however before I could say yes, my watch started beeping uncontrollably. After a quick peek, I immediately dashed over to the counter to grab my bag and jacket. "Maybe another time, Jiro," I spoke, almost too quickly.

"But school doesn't start for you until-"

"Later, I know. But if I eat now, I'll just be late."

Jiro looked saddened at first, and knowing he found it disrespectful whenever someone denied his dish, I couldn't help but empathize with his current emotions as I looked into those big eyes of his. _Well, now I feel bad…_

"I'm sorry," I finally said, "Another time, I promise."

* * *

The Cherry Blossoms were blooming brightly at this time of the year, and the weather had gotten warmer as well. This was not only a sign that Spring was officially in the air, but our hosting would be taking place outside today for a "Garden Tea Party". The scent of the cherry blossoms was rather relaxing, and the grass was cool enough that it's where I spent the entire hour with my regular clients. The pink flowers had nearly covered us completely by the end of the service, but when the ladies left and said their goodbyes, I returned to that spot and took in every scent of the new season as I selected my new courses for the next term. _Let's see what we've got so far. French 1. Advanced Algebra. Physics. Language Arts. Geography._ These were really the same classes I had as of right now, and the only difference it'd make was they'd be rearranged at different times. I sighed to myself as I looked over the extra electives. There were music classes, artsy classes as well as a few business ones. I rested my pencil on my ear as well as leaning back into the tree behind me, biting my lip.

"Hey uh, Kyoya?" The host wasn't standing too far from me, and he answered without looking up from his book, "Yes, Yuri?"

"What electives are you taking for the next term?"

"Hm, why? You want to be in the same classes?"

"What- No- I mean, not to be rude but... It just might give me an idea for what I might want to take."

"Why not do a second term of orchestra?"

"Mm..."

"No?"

"Well, that's what I'm taking right now, and to be honest, it's just _too_ easy."

"Ah," Kyoya cleared his throat, "Well, for the most part my second semester is really nothing but a bunch of math and business classes."

I paused. _Well that just sounds boring._ "Too dull for your tastes, I assume?" He inquired.

"Well no but... Oh, I've got it!" I answered. _I could do catering. Or maybe marketing._ "Thanks, Kyoya."

"Mm-hm."

I marked down the marketing class and scanned over for anything that involved creativity. Just when I thought it'd be a peaceful and silent throughout the hour, Tamaki (Not surprisingly) went into another fit of some sort, "Alright then! We can't go on hiding the fact that you're a girl from everyone in the school any longer! All daddy wants is for you to go back to being the girl that you used to be! For you to surround yourself with girlfriends and start leading a wholesome life! So do it! Change back now! Change back now!"

"You don't have to rush things," Once again, I failed to hear out which twin said what, "She'll be found out soon enough."

"Physical exams are the day after tomorrow."

I almost broke the pen in my hand as I tensed up. _Physical exams?_ When I looked at the hosts, all eyes were on Haruhi, who looked less surprised than I did.

"Then that means..." She murmured, "There's no doubt they're gonna know... I'm really a girl."

The hosts were pale and horrified (Well except for Kyoya and Mori), and so was I. But it wasn't the fact that the word of Haruhi's true gender was going to be spread, it was the fact that I knew I had to strip in front of the doctors. It was not only discomforting, but that'd also mean they'd see my scars and bruises. Then there'd be questions raised about the household I'm living in, the treatment I'm getting there.

 _No._

I can't let it happen! The girls would not only find that unattractive, but one, Daichi would lose his father, two, he's filthy rich and would manage to bail himself out somehow, and when he'd come back, he'd really hand me my ass for sure! And it's only in two days- How can the scars fade that quickly?! Before I could go into a full blown panic attack from my thoughts, I caught myself trembling. Even if that were to happen, I wouldn't be the only one as the hosts were panicking about how Haruhi's gender would be revealed to the school. I let out a shaky sigh and set down my pad, pen, and paper before pushing myself off of the ground.

While everyone was distracted, I walked over to the table with all the sweets and tea and poured myself a glass. Before the cup could touch my mouth, I still found myself trembling from my thoughts. When I finally did take a sip, it was cold and unsweetened, but the herbs managed to simmer my heartbeat. I closed my eyes and sighed again. _It'll be fine. Probably not for me, but that's okay._

Slowly, but anxiously, I started to accept the fact that in two days my own secret would be revealed to everyone in the school. My step-dad will know that they know, and no doubt that he'll beat me down to the bone, knowing that he'd blame me for letting everyone know about his treatment towards me. But I'll walk away like nothing happened. It's nothing new. But it's something to be expected.

* * *

 *** Kyoya's POV***

"Yuri? Earth to Yuri! Come on, are you even listening?!" Tamaki literally got into Yuri's face, who seemed quite out of the ordinary today. He was unresponsive and awfully silent. Even when Hikaru and Kaoru tried shaking him to get a reaction, he really acted as if he couldn't care less. He was even a bit paler than usual, but that wasn't until we brought up the physical exams that were taking place tomorrow. Eventually, he did look up at Tamaki to respond dully, "Get in positions, wait for your go, etcetera."

"That was only the first part of the plan and we're on the seventh!"

I stopped writing for a moment, "Yuri, are you feeling well at all?"

"I'm just... A little on edge. I'm fine though."

"Are you worried about the exams?"

Yuri didn't respond right away. In fact, his eyes wandered about the room as if he were thinking of what to say, and even before he could speak, Honey-senpai leapt into his arms, "It's okay, Yuri-Chan! We're all scared about everyone finding out about Haru-Chan!"

"And that's why we're coming up with this plan!" Tamaki directed his attention to the scribbled plan written out on the board. Yuri let out a small huff, like he was uninterested. "Oh, please don't tell me we need to motivate you with fancy tuna too! Come on, take this seriously!"

"Maybe some cake would cheer him up!"

"He has been kind of gloomy all day."

"Um..." Haruhi set a hand on Yuri's shoulder, "Let's change the subject. What's up with you? I mean, if you're nervous about the exams I'm right on board with you-"

"Guys..." Yuri finally said, setting Honey-senpai down, "I'm fine really. I'm not nervous about the exams I just..." When we made eye contact he immediately looked away, "I've just got other things on my mind right now, and I'm just overthinking, and I-..." He stopped talking and stared down at the floor, "Look, it's really nothing to worry about."

"Well, if it'd make you feel better, you could go home now," I spoke up, and Tamaki obviously did not seem okay with, "No, Kyoya! He needs to stay here and prepare for his role in tomorrow."

"And what's he got to do with this?" Kaoru questioned, Hikaru following, "Yeah, you haven't really mentioned him a whole lot up until now."

I noted how Yuri didn't look up at anyone as Tamaki murmured to himself, probably planning something for the host to do at the exams. I squinted my eyes a little and raised my book a little higher so he wouldn't know that I was trying to observe him. It dawned upon me that he _was_ worried, but it wasn't for Haruhi's sake. He was overthinking about himself. Then again, we all have our own insecurities about ourselves, but what would give Yuri a reason to feel self-conscious at the exams?

"Guys," Yuri began, "Not that I'm trying to ditch out on the plan, but I really don't think I'm needed."

"No, Yuri!" Tamaki exclaimed, "You could... You could-"

"It's fine. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

As Yuri turned to take his leave, we all remained silent until he was out of the room. "If I didn't know any better," Haruhi began, "I'd say that Yuri seems more anxious about the physical exams than me."


	6. Chapter Six

*** Kyoya's POV***

Everything was all set, and one by one, students began entering the infirmary to begin their physical exam. To be honest, I was actually rather excited by all of this. Would Haruhi remain to the school as male? Or would her true identity be revealed? Either way, I was interested to see the outcome. Then it came to my attention when I heard Haruhi's voice not too far away, commenting at Honey and Mori's appearance, who were dressed in doctor coats and glasses. I walked over to Haruhi, explaining, "I've got those two for backup just incase something happens."

"But why are they in doctor disguises?" Haruhi asked.

"They're just helping to set the mood. Disguises make our operation feel like a real espionage mission."

I took another look around as the twins began to get ready for their distraction, and by that they were really going to show off their chests and bodies as they got measured. But it'd be enough time to stall while the next part came into play. Though as I looked around, I couldn't help but notice there was only one student missing. Yuri Ryota. He never came into the infirmary, and I certainly don't recall seeing him walking into the school this morning. I tapped the bottom of my pen against my lip, humming once. It caught me off guard for a split second. Though it could be many things that could've prevented him from coming in today. Illness, emergency, etc.

Or, and this is just a thought, could it be he purposely skipped today just to avoid the physical exams? After all, he was acting rather strange the day before.

 _What could he so afraid of?_

 _What is he trying to hide?_

* * *

 *** Yuri's POV***

I braced myself as my felt another kick to the stomach, followed by a few other additional swift kicks, my step-dad shouting down, "Next time, remember this before you walking in on my privacy like that, you brat!"

I coughed, too numb to move, and I just glared up at him. He obviously took that as an offense since he was about to kick me again. I turned away, closing my eyes. "Kazuki!" A woman's voice came to stop him, and I didn't feel anything else. I opened my eyes, looking up only to see a woman which I saw my step dad smother as she was trying to get dressed, and what decided to make me walk in? Well, I figured he was awake (Obviously), and having a warm heart for the first time in awhile I thought I'd bring him some coffee that Jiro had brewed up for the servants or anyone else that just needed something to wake them up. Though when I walked in, I didn't expect him to be having a "moment" with his partner. "That's enough out of you!" She continued, "I'm sure he didn't mean to, so just leave him alone!"

I exhaled. _Damn, his beatings are getting a lot rougher._ Instead of another kick to the ribs, my step-dad bent over and lifted me by the collar of my shirt, "So help me, if you keep up this shit, I'll break your damn fingers. Good luck trying to play the violin with that." He stepped over me, and the woman glanced down at me before following her so-called-lover to his room. It took every bit of strength to push myself up into a sitting position. For a while, I just stared down at my knees, breathing in and out slowly. The intakes of air were shaken, and my white shirt was covered in hot coffee while my fingers were covered in cuts and blood when the mug broke when my step-dad came at me just like that. I moved up a bit to pick up the scattered shards.

Every part of me shook from the shock, and when I got up I almost fell over. I managed to regain my balance, turning to head back to my room. It took longer to get there than I thought it'd be, since every inch of my body was throbbing in pain. When I shut the door behind me, I dumped the shards into the small trash can before falling onto my bed. For a split second, I looked at my clock. I was already going to be late anyway for school. But I just felt too sore and numb to move another muscle. It felt as if every bit of energy was drained away, and I found myself dozing off.

It felt nice for a while, and when I woke up, it was already past three o' clock. _Time certainly does fly by._ The hosts would already be in service by then. _Oh, right. And the physical exams were today. I wonder how their whole plan went?_ I rolled onto my back before pushing myself up into a sitting position. It was easier to move this time, but it still hurt to lift a finger or breathe. Speaking of fingers, the blood and cuts on mine had dried off, as well as staining one part of the bedding. I couldn't care less, and I pushed myself off of the bed to walk into the bathroom.

Out of painful curiosity, I unbuttoned my shirt, and at this point, the sore spots on my torso were finally starting to freshen up, making my skin all spotted and purple like a Dalmatian. I inhaled a shaky breath, and let it out before closing my shirt back up.

* * *

"So, Tamaki tried to pass off as Haruhi?" I walked with Hikaru and Kaoru to the spot that they'd normally sit at when it came to their afternoon meal, "And he actually thought it'd work?"

"Yeah," One of them said, another continuing, "You should've been there, Yuri. You really would've enjoyed the show."

"Yeah, there was even this old commoner trying to find his daughter, but he was really looking at the wrong place."

"Where were you yesterday, anyway?"

As they set their lunch down on the table, I walked to the other side to sit across from them, simply answering, "Sick."

"Oh, yeah? Sick from what?"

"It just..." It ached to sit down, and I grunted a bit as I finally touched the seat, "Was a migraine."

"I'd say it was more than just a migraine if you ask me," One of them pointed at my bandaged fingers, "What happened there?"

"Oh, I... I cut myself on accident." _Great thinking, you idiot._ "But I learned my lesson not to reach for something high and fragile with a migraine, so there's that."

"Why didn't you just stay in bed and let someone else handle it then?"

"Why were you even reaching for something 'fragile' in the first place?"

"Er..."

"Excuse me, Mr. Ryota?" I looked up and over to see an adult, dressed in the same uniform like mine, and he continued, "I apologize for the interruption, but you were absent from yesterday's physical exams, correct?"

"Uh, yeah," I nodded.

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but if you'd follow me, you can do them right now."

"Sure. Okay." I pushed my tray forward just a little bit, looking at Hikaru and Kaoru, "You can finish that for me." As I walked off, I could almost feel my stomach drop to my feet. _What're they gonna ask me to do? Will I need to take my shirt off? God, I hope not._ As we approached the "special boys clinic", no one was in there except for a nurse.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ryota," She said, "I was expecting to see you yesterday, but it's good to see you're doing better."

"Better?" I questioned.

"You were sick, weren't you? Or that's what we all assumed."

"O-Oh, yeah. I'm doing better," I forced a nervous smile as she continued, "That's good to hear. Now if you don't mind, I'd just like to ask some simple questions before we get started."

"Alright."

For a while, answering those questions made me forget all my worries. They were just about my health, like if I have any allergies, get enough sleep, eat enough or a lot, etc. "Okay, it seems that you're in a healthy state," She looked over her clipboard before looking at me.

"What happens now?" I asked, feeling the anxiety come back to me.

"Now, I just need to take your measurements."

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to remain calm for the most part as she measured my height and weight, but then she said the one thing I dreaded the most about this exam, "Now all that's left is to measure your chest and waist. If you want, you can use the curtain to disrobe."

"Uh, what's this for?" I asked, thinking that I could somehow get out of it.

"It's just standard procedure. All the boys had to do it."

"..."

"You have no reason to be nervous. I'm just doing my job." She still kept her cheeky smile on her face. I only nodded before going behind the curtain she was talking about. I slipped out of my jacket and let it fall to the ground. With hesitant hands, I undid my tie and started unbuttoning my shirt. The bruises were much darker than before. I inhaled, preparing for the worst. Though I still hid my torso as I slid the curtain open, I eventually exposed it when the nurse told me she was ready whenever I was.

She almost dropped her tape measure when she saw the monstrosity painted on my stomach and chest, "O-Oh my goodness...!"

I said nothing, and she seemed to be lost in her words, "I-If I may ask... What happened there?"

"I... I was jumped," I said, trying to sound as honest as possible. _That's good enough, I guess._

"Did you report it to anyone? Was it anyone in this school?"

"No..."

"Mr. Ryota, this is serious. Was it someone you knew?"

"No."

"What did he look like? Was he alone? In a big group-"

"I don't know," I help myself back from snapping at her, letting out a deep sigh afterwards,

"Look, I don't know who it was, or what he looked like. But it doesn't matter now because he's gone for good."

The nurse was silent for a moment, trying to stay calm, "Mr. Ryota, I have to inform your parents or guardian about this-"

"No! Don't-" I stopped myself at the sudden raise of my voice, "I mean, they won't do much anyway. The guy who jumped me is gone, and I'm just trying to move on from that."

She looked at me for a good whole minute before sighing and nodding, "Very well. Then I hope you stay safe from now on."


	7. Chapter Seven

I was definitely not okay with today's cosplay for the service. All of us were dressed in Kimonos, and though part of the outfit was meant to reveal our chest, I did everything I could to hide mine. I was practically holding my kimono closed the entire service, almost like I was wrapping myself in a blanket. The entire time, Aiya was leaned up against me as I offered her a selection of sweets, which she gracefully ate. Though things started to heat up (Or maybe it was just me), as she found the edge of my kimono, which she tugged on. "Yuri," She said so softly, "I've been thinking..."

I felt a bubble of anxiety rise in my throat, but I managed to reply, "O-Oh? What's that?"

"Well, maybe we could... Hang out together some time? Just the two of us. Outside of school, strolling under the starlight, maybe even at my place?"

As she pulled more on my kimono, I almost had to pull away because she was literally a millimeter away from exposing the bruises on my skin. "I've told my dad all about you," She continued, somehow sounding so seductive about it, "Even he thinks you're quite the gentleman. He'd even _love_ to have you over sometime." She moved her other hand over to the sleeve, and pulled me closer. _When have the tables of hosting turn all of sudden? Is this sexual harassment?_

"It's just that..." Aiya had her lips almost an inch away from mine, "We deserve a break, right? From the work this school's given us? You especially look like you could use one..."

Just before things could get out of hand, my client suddenly snapped out of her seductive behavior when Kyoya's voice came out of nowhere, "Pardon me for interrupting, but Mademoiselle, our guests have already taken their leave."

"Oh!" Aiya immediately stood up, keeping a beaming smile on her face, "I apologize, Kyoya! I didn't realize I overstayed my welcome here. I guess I'll be going now. See you tomorrow, Yuri!" She skipped out of the room, and I let out a heavy sigh of relief, feeling my heartbeat through my ears. I pulled my kimono over my chest before standing up. _Glad that's over._ "You've certainly done a good job pulling her in, Yuri," Kyoya commented.

"I didn't even realize she had a thing for me," I said.

"Well it's no surprise. This is a host club. After all, the ladies will find anything we do attractive, even if we don't notice."

"True, but... Doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"

"What do you mean?" I walked alongside Kyoya as he kept his eyes in his book, and I continued, "You know, I understand that as hosts, our job is to make every girl happy. But don't you think we take it a little bit too far? Like we make them too overjoyed that they think we love them that much, and really we're just a bunch of teenagers trying to be gentlemen."

"Ah, I see what you're getting at now," The Shadow King commented, closing up the book and looking down at me when I spoke again, "I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems as if Aiya _really_ does have some sort of feelings for me, but I don't know what to say or do, especially when she's being all hands on."

"Being touched makes you feel uncomfortable then?"

"... To be honest, yeah. But the question is... How do I say I don't love her without breaking her heart?"

"Well, you really can't say that without making her cry, but it's better to be honest than uncomfortable."

"So, just come straight out with it?"

"Don't sound too apathetic with what you say, but just try to give her the message you're trying to make her understand."

I sighed tensely, nodding, "I guess I'll try if we ever do get that far."

"If it'd make you feel any better, you wouldn't be the only one who broke a young girl's heart."

"Yeah, I could imagine Tamaki doing it a lot."

"It's not just Tamaki."

"Oh? Who else then-" I stopped talking when we approached the group of hosts, who all were staring at the doorway. I too looked over, only to see another girl peeking in shyly. _It's too bad we just closed up shop._ Hikaru and Kaoru approached the girl, with roses in their hands and speaking in a soft voice, almost like Aiya's. Though Tamaki came in, doing whatever he could to bring the girl into the music room, "Please, you don't have to be afraid, my princess. I welcome you to the Ouran host club."

Rather than getting the regular reaction he gets from girls he's flirted with, this girl's reaction wasn't what I had in mind. She pushed Tamaki away, shrieking, "No! Don't touch me, you phony!" I could hear almost every host gasp in shock, excluding Mori, Kyoya, and myself.

Personally, I almost had to hold back a snort, because it was true. For all of us, for that matter.

But I covered my mouth so no one could see me smirk in amusement as Tamaki continued to get verbally attacked by this new client, "I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this host club! You shouldn't go spreading your love around so easily like that, you stupid! You must be a dim-witted narcissist!"

"You're _incompetent_!"

"You're a _commoner_!"

"You're _disgusting_!"

Each word being said seemed to be a stab in the back for Tamaki, as he collapsed breathless and pale on to the floor. Though the anger in her eyes quickly turned into teary happiness as she squealed, "It's you! Kyoya!" _Wait? Do they know each other? What's going on?_ As the girl approached, she almost shoved me out of the way just to wrap her arms around her...

One and only Prince Charming?

 _What the hell...?_

* * *

"Your fiancé?"

"Kyoya-senpai?"

After settling down after the confusing chaos, we offered this girl some tea as she explained, "Of course. My name is Renge Hoshakuji, and I'm transferring into Ouran Academy's first year class A tomorrow."

"Welcome then," I managed to say, not forgetting my manners. But this Renge ignored my words, and rather began to tell her love story about Kyoya, "I couldn't resist the way you were adoring those flowers in the backyard when you thought no one else was looking. And how sweet it was when you reached out to that poor little injured kitten."

"Kyoya?" I looked up at him for an explanation, but he only glanced at me before looking up back in thought.

Finally, Haruhi questioned, "Could you have the wrong person?"

"No way!" Renge snapped, "I could recognize my love anywhere!" As she continued to explain who her "Prince Charming" was, the twins seemed to be in some sort of panicked confusion, and I couldn't really hear Renge over the sounds of their rambles. Though I managed to hear her say, "He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, Uki-doki Memorial! You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi!"

 _Uki-doki?_

It finally started to make a little more sense when Tamaki screamed, "Otaku!"

"I get it now," Kyoya began, "You're in love with that character. You're projecting the love onto me, and somehow you deluded yourself into thinking that we're engaged. I assumed this Miyabi character probably wears glasses as well." The entire time, Renge seemed completely out of control, I guess still excited by the fact that this was her love.

"So she made it up," Tamaki seemed overwhelmed, "You're not really her fiancé, right?"

"Well no. I don't remember asking for her hand in marriage. Besides this is the first time I've ever met the woman."

Renge hopped right next to Kyoya on the couch, and I scooted away to the edge just to give the two a little bit of space. "According to me research, I understand that you're in charge of managing the club," She said, "Is that true, Kyoya?"

"That's right!" Honey-Senpai answered, "Kyo-chan's the club's director!"

"You're the club's director?! That's perfect!" For more than a second, it seemed as if Renge was in her own little world, "Oh wow, I've always wanted to wear a sandwich board to advertise a business!"

 _Wear a what?_

"I've made up my mind!" She squealed again, "From now on, I'm gonna be the manager of this host club!"

"Oh, goody," I said in between my teeth.

"Miss Hoshokuji is the daughter of a very important Otori family client," Kyoya spoke, glaring down at me, "So, please be polite and try not to offend her, all right?"

"Well, I'll give it my best shot."


	8. Chapter Eight

"I thought about it a lot last night," Tamaki began, "And maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea."

 _Is he really being serious about this crazy Otaku chick?_

"Well, it's fairly obvious, isn't it?" He continued, "Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi. So if Haruhi has a girlfriend around, it could bring out the female within her. Renge's girlish air of tenderness might be able to stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."

 _Oh, I get it now._

"Now is our chance to help Haruhi get in touch with her feminine side. This is an important project, men. She doesn't have any friends in class right now except for these two shady twins. That's not good for her."

"Do we always keep forgetting that Yuri's in our class?" Haruhi commented.

"He's not exactly what you'd call 'shady'," Hikaru (I'm just assuming) said, and Kaoru following,

"But he is pretty anti-social in general."

"You guys realize I can hear you, right?" I glared at them.

From behind Hikaru and Kaoru, the door opened and in came Renge, "Hey everyone! You'd be happy to know that your new manager, Renge has baked all of you some cookies!"

"Oh, isn't she lady-like?" Tamaki applauded her, thinking that he could somehow pull her into his kindness, "I'm so moved by your generosity!"

"I didn't bake these cookies for you, you phony prince."

I snickered silently. Somehow, I couldn't exactly bring myself to hate her when she wasn't falling for Tamaki's fake love. She set them down on the table in front of us before looking at Kyoya,

"I'm sorry, I burnt them a little bit. I did the best I could. And I already know what you're going to say."

I looked at Kyoya, who really didn't say anything. _What was he going to say about her cooking?_

Honey-senpai was chewing down on one of the cookies already as Renge said more fantasizing words.

"She wasn't kidding," Honey said, chewing on the sweet snack, "These cookies really are burnt."

"Don't eat that, Mitsukuni!" Mori nearly took the cookie out of the smaller host's mouth, "That's bad for you!"

It seemed at that moment, Renge turned hostile and started chasing Mori and Honey all over the music room. _Well, never insult a woman and her cooking..._

For a while, I just stared at them before out of curiosity, I took a cookie myself. Since it was bite sized, I just ate it all in one. After a couple of chews, I shrugged. I guess they're not that bad, but they're really dry too. After swallowing, I could finally taste the burnt up flavor in the back of my throat. _Oh, there it is._ That, and the crumbs were getting stuck as well. I cleared my throat, in attempt to get me to breathe a little bit again. Bad idea, since some of the cookie crumbs went down the wrong pipe, and I turned into a coughing fit. Though I tried my best to hide it so I wouldn't make Renge think that her cooking was terrible.

I sat back down on the couch, hacking shallow breaths as tears stung at my eyes. No one really seemed to notice that I was choking to death. Then at the moment when Tamaki and the twins were, not surprisingly, picking a fight with each other, I let out another cough that almost took the air out of my lungs. Once again, no one seemed to mind. Though I felt better now that I could inhale and exhale without feeling raspy. By the time I calmed myself down, Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi were all rambling on about sexual harassment. _Geez, there's an argument for everything in this club._

"Every single one of you!" Renge suddenly shouted, "Except for Kyoya, all of your characters are lukewarm! Each of you needs to have some sort of dark side. You understand? Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men who are troubled. If you keep carrying on like this, it's only a matter of time before the girls get tired of you and stop coming altogether. Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyoya's business?"

 _For god's sake, it's just a club._

"As your manager, it's my duty to change your character backgrounds!" Renge pointed at Honey-senpai, "Let's start with you! If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're no different to a baby. Therefore, from now on you're the baby-faced thug! And Mori-senpai, you're his childhood friend, the flunkie!"

I felt my stomach sink to my feet, yet at the same time I sort of wanted to know what our "manager" had in mind for my new background. As of now, she said the twins would be basketball players trapped in their own world, Haruhi would be a bullied honor student, and as for Tamaki, he'd be a "lonely prince" who was admired for his good looks. "And Kyoya," Renge squealed, "You're perfect just the way you are now! So I want you to stay as kind and affectionate as ever, 'kay?"

"Thank you, I'm honored," I could pick up some sarcasm in Kyoya's voice.

"Well, okay," Hikaru (I think) began, "If Honey and Mori are bullies, Haruhi's a victim of bullying, we're basketball players, and Tamaki's some 'lonely prince'."

"Then what does that make Yuri?" Kaoru followed.

"Yuri?" Renge looked over at me as if she just realized I was in the room. I remained silent, feeling frozen as everyone's eyes (Except for Kyoya and Tamaki, who was off doing his own dramatic thing) were on me. The only sound that was heard was the clock ticking, and I was filled with discomfort was Renge's eyes were all over me. I mumbled for a moment before, speaking up, "Renge, listen I-"

"I've got it!" She perked up, and pointed her finger directly at me, "Yuri, although it may seem you're calm and introverted to your peers around you, you're always hiding secrets! Secrets, that deep on the inside, are eating you up!"

"...!" _God, her and Kyoya have a tendency to just stare straight through my soul..._

"Oh, that's just perfect," Renge squealed to herself, and I walked over to the Shadow King,

"Kyoya, a word."

I pulled him off to the side, "Shouldn't we like, be doing something to stop this? She's getting way over her head about this and it's ridiculous."

"Why? It looks like the boss is up for it," Obviously that meant Tamaki, who seemed to be striking poses that would fit for a "lonesome prince", and Renge seemed to be enjoying his role.

"Oh god..." I covered my eyes with my palm.

"Let's just wait and see how things turn out," Kyoya continued, "I bet it'll be interesting. It always is."

* * *

 _"It was as if deep inside my bones, something was eating me up, and at any moment I'd crumble and fall onto the ground. I knew I couldn't hold them in much longer. It wasn't right. The thoughts I held in poisoned my mind and heart."_

I almost tossed the lousy script off to the side. _I can't even believe this is happening._ What started out as changing our backgrounds turned into making a movie about us. Though seemed as if everyone was sticking to their parts rather well. Me on the other hand, I'm messing up on lines, forgetting them, etc. For probably the one-thousandth time, Renge told me to reread my lines memorize them before my next scene, and the more I read it the less likely I'll say these lines perfectly. I'll be honest, I was getting pretty fed up with all of this. There was just too much drama, and too much rain.

"Yuri!" Renge came by my side, sounding like her cheerful self, "Have you memorized your lines yet?"

"Mm, a little," I replied.

"Okay great! So I thought we'd move onto something a little more different this time. In this part, you'll be chatting with my dear Kyoya and he's going to try his best to talk you into pouring your secrets out from your heavy heart."

"One question, what exactly are 'my secrets'? Is that somewhere in the script?"

"Yes it's right here!" Renge flipped through the pages and pointed out my conversation with Kyoya.

"Oh..." I kept forgetting I read over this sequence like it was nothing. But I guess I knew these lines well enough to say them out loud.

"Well, what're we waiting for, let's get rolling!"

She practically dragged me over to the set, where Kyoya stood there, replacing his mysterious black book with an umbrella. _Oh right. The rain._ "Now I just want you to stand there and wait here and act like you're minding your own business," Renge explained, "Then when Kyoya walks over to you, act like you've never seen him before."

"Sure..." I handed the script off to her. One of the crew members pointed the water hose up in the air, letting it rain on both Kyoya and I. Then after I was soaked, Renge shouted, "Action!"

I let out a heavy sigh, walking off of the pavement and onto the mushy grass. The trees shielded the ice cold droplets from falling on me, and I just watched as they fell endlessly from the sky. _Cough. The hose_. "How long are you going to keep it all in?" Kyoya spoke his first line, and I turned to address him in a monotone sort of way, "I'm sorry?"

"Act surprised, Yuri!" Renge hissed.

"I-I'm sorry?" I faked the surprise in my voice and blinked a couple times.

"I know not everyone sees it," Kyoya walked over a little bit more to the point where his shadow was looming over me, "But when they do, they always see the look of someone who's constantly bothered by their own problems. Can't you see they want to help you out?"

Despite his lines being so cheesy, he was actually saying them so perfectly. "Help?" I forced a soft chuckle, "How can they help, senpai? They don't know the feeling of what I'm going through right now. They wouldn't understand-"

I immediately stopped talking as Kyoya laid his palm gently against the side of my face. My eyes widened and the feeling of being eaten alive soon turned into a burning sensation. I wasn't acting anymore. I was _legitimately_ shocked. _This wasn't in the script! Was it in the script?! Renge, please tell me this wasn't in the script!_

"That feeling won't be eating at your heart anymore if you tell me," Kyoya said, rubbing thumb along my cheekbone "You can trust me can you?"

"Wha...- Uh..." I stammered, "N-No. I-I-I mean yes. You're someone a-anyone can p-put their trust in." This was my cue to start walking away, and clumsily I slipped out from his touch,

"B-But even you wouldn't get it-" Instead of walking away, my heel dug into the earth and I ended up slipping and falling into the muddy ground. But no one said anything, and I didn't know whether to feel scared or not as Kyoya crouched down, hovering his umbrella over the two of us. He was dead close, and I could feel my face begin to heat up.

"Maybe I would," Kyoya continued, "But I'd never know unless you tell me. You don't have to keep holding onto your troubles anymore..."

After a few seconds of silence, Renge shouted, "Cut! That was beautiful! Both of you!"

She cut off the scene before I had a chance to "pour my secrets" or something. I didn't even know when those lines were supposed to come up. The rain stopped pouring and I immediately scooted away and picked myself up before Kyoya had a chance to stand up himself. I just looked at him, trembling from either the chills running down my spine or the Shadow King's performance. I let out a heavy, but silent exhale, realizing that I was holding my breath the entire time. It obviously seemed to be more than good since Renge was rambling on about how perfect that was. Though while it did give the scene a little more excitement, the look in Kyoya's eyes when he glanced at me said it was more than just an act. I gulped, feeling my heart sink down my body.

* * *

After dressing into a dry uniform, I was given a break, and I took that opportunity to excuse myself to the restroom. But rather than taking care of business, I walked over to the sink and began ringing out the moist water left over in my hair. I ran my fingers through the strands, shaking it around before looking back at the mess I've made of my hair. From earlier, I could still feel my heart beating through the vein in my neck. I don't think I've ever been that freaked out before. With the thumb stroking and the invasion of personal space, I just couldn't bring myself out of that. It was something I wasn't exactly used to. I swear to god that could've been just his own little mix into the performance. But if not, that only leaves me with extra thoughts to eat me up. Like first of all, why the hell would Kyoya touch me like that? I guess somehow it wasn't clear to him that being touched was my weakness or something like that. Second, is he really trying to break me? Third, why is he trying to break me?! _Does he really think I'm hiding something?!_

I inhaled, obviously I was letting this get in way over my head. I let out that breath of air tensely, and I could still feel that my insides were burning up from the internal emotions of panic. I figured I shouldn't keep everyone waiting anymore, and I left the restroom and back outside.

Though as I turned the corner, the movie crew was starting to pack up the cameras and equipment. I blinked. _Are we finally done?_ Standing in the grass, Kyoya watched was the moved everything off of the school campus. A shiver ran down my back, and I didn't know whether if I should approach or avoid him. I breathed in again, looking around before walking over to Haruhi and Tamaki.

"Hey," I began, "What's happening now?"

"Yuri, you just missed it," Tamaki said, "Kyoya finally put a stop to this whole thing. I think we can finally return to our normal selves now."

"But where's Renge?"

"She walked off somewhere," Haruhi commented, "But she was really heartbroken about finding out how Kyoya wasn't the person she saw him as. She was crying and everything."

I blinked before glancing over at Kyoya. He didn't seem so remorseful for whatever he told Renge. But with a broken heart, I guess the best part is that she got the message of not to judge a book by its cover.

* * *

 **You know, funny story. I was actually considering about making Yuri's background like him being a figure skater with intense anxiety. If you know what I'm getting at lol ;) But I'm hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a little hard for me to write to be honest because I was overthinking too much about how I was going to put it together. Hopefully I can get back to this soon. School's been keeping me very busy and I've also got a lot of ideas for new stories up my sleeve. But thank you for being patient :33 Goodnight folks**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Hoi. Here's just another thank you to everyone who reviewed and added this story to their favorites/follows list :33 I sorta got carried away in different fandoms, stories, and life in general. So here's a chapter more than 2000 words to make it up lol but thank you all for being so patient ;3**

* * *

For a moment, I almost couldn't recognize the next note. I had to use the "Every-Good-Boy-Does-Fine" trick to help me with what I was reading. It was a 'B' by the way. Even while reading through the sheet of music, I almost forgot what each note sounded like, and I'd stop humming whenever I got lost on which note sounded like what. How long had it been since I laid my hands on the strings of a violin? Two weeks? Three? Today I figured I'd skip today's host service and get some practice in, and the best part was my stepdad was out for the moment, which also meant for once I could play somewhere that wasn't in the basement.

But when I eventually got to playing the instrument, I forgot to tune it, first of all. Second, despite the strings being tuned shortly after, it still sounded as if I were strangling a bunch of rats. It felt awkward sliding the bow across the strings, it was almost like the first time I ever laid hands on a violin. I sighed, taking it off of my shoulder and setting the bow aside before I began toying around with the pegs and fine tuners.

Though when I began tuning the E string, the front door swung open, and in stepped in Daichi and the woman our father was sleeping with last night. I believe her name was, Takara Yori (But Daichi and I are just supposed to call her Ms. Yori), and she's like any other women the old man has met. Red lips, pink cheeks, and silky black hair. Oh, and let's not forget that taste in clothing which exposes a lot of skin. Though today, she wore a brown raincoat, after all it has been a little gloomy today. Takar- Ms. Yori helped Daichi take off his own raincoat, and he too even looked gloomy much like the sky. "It's okay, Daichi," Ms. Yori spoke to him, "We can get you another one of those bears. There's plenty of them out there."

"But I don't want to replace Yukio!" Daichi whined, and he was referring to his old stuffed bear,

"He's always been with me."

"What's going on?" I packed the violin and bow in the case.

"One of the bigger kids took Yukio!"

"Did you tell your teachers?"

"But the girl who took her said she'd pound me into the ground if I did!"

"Daichi, sweetie," Ms. Yori crouched down and looked at my younger step brother, "Please don't cry. We can try to get back Yukio tomorrow, with your father's help of course. Now why don't we get you some ice cream or something sweet? Yeah?"

Daichi only sighed with disappointment, "Okay..."

I watched as they walked into the dining room, and I sighed, returning my focus back to the notes just to go over them once more. But instead of thinking about the melody in this Mozart classic, I could only think of the host club, and how I actually wanted to be there. _Wait, what_? I lowered the music notes so they'd be resting on my lap. Yeah, the host club was fun. Overwhelmingly energetic once in awhile, but I really am enjoying myself there. Then it finally hit me. This club is obviously getting too distracting. Instead of composers, music, and dreams of being a violinist or composer, all of those thoughts were replaced with girls, cake, and seducing compliments. Oh, and let's not forget Kyoya too.

But it's not like I'm considering leaving the host club.

I mean, not yet.

* * *

I came back the next day, and I really didn't miss anything. But I guess I should've expected that Aiya missed me. Other than that, the service was the same as usual. Though today, Hikaru and Kaoru were playing a game with the ladies, and the whole point of it was to guess which twin was Hikaru. They'd wear hats to cover up which way they part their hair, and so far no one guessed it right. I already couldn't tell which one was which, so I really didn't bother participating. As always, Tamaki would start up some sort of drama about Haruhi, and this time he asked her if she could wear a dress. The twins also said how she was their "toy" or something. I wasn't too far from this when this was being rambled about, but I wasn't far enough to not hear a faint, mysterious whisper questioning, "You want a toy?"

That voice sent shivers down my back, and I looked over to see a student dressed in a dark cloak while holding a candlestick. He was peeking out of a couple doors which were painted black, something I didn't realize was there in the first place. "If you like toys," The student continued, "Then you should come visit my Black Magic Club. We've opened a marketplace that boasts black magic items from across the globe."

I chuckled and shook my head as he continued, "We're also holding a mass around the clock. If you visit right now, I'll even throw in a free curse doll. You could have Belzenef as your free gift." He held up a hand puppet of a cat.

"He's a big creep, isn't he?" I could feel Aiya behind me, she wrapped her arms gently around me and rested her chin on my head.

"I... Actually don't have any idea who this guy is," I said, getting a little warm.

"That's Nekozawa, and all we really know about him is that he likes dark places."

"Hm, I can see that, and he mentioned a curse doll?"

"It's really just a fake toy-"

Aiya suddenly squealed in fear and hid behind me when this Nekozawa person creeped right up to us, "You shouldn't underestimate the dark powers of Berzenef, the curse doll. All you have to do is write the name of someone you hate on his back, then that person is certain to come face to face with misfortune."

 _Misfortune, huh?_ I smirked, laughing a bit, "And you said that doll is free or something?"

"Yuri, you're not thinking of getting into this nonsense, are you?!" Tamaki ran up to me, almost making me deaf in the left ear because he just has to raise his voice and be over reactive.

"Would you relax, senpai? It's not like I was gonna use it on you." _Oh god, I just used "senpai"._

"So you wish to curse a despicable being?" Nekozawa chuckled darkly.

"Sure."

"Come by tomorrow then. We'll talk more about-"

Right in the middle of his sentence, from the sidelines, someone appeared to be shining a light right at his face. This caused both him and Tamaki to screech in terror as he ran right back to those black doors. I looked over only to see Hikaru and Kaoru, snickering silently as one of them kept flickering a flashlight on and off. _Why am I not surprised?_

"So you won't be here for tomorrow's service then?" Aiya asked, sounding as if she were trying to hide her disappointment.

"Well, hopefully what he has to say won't last long," I shrugged, "Might be for a few minutes. Maybe more."

She chuckled, "Just promise me you won't get carried away in that nonsense, like Tamaki says. I think the Host Club is just right for you anyway!"

"A-heh heh... Well I'm flattered. Thank you, Aiya."

* * *

 _The next day_

I came to the music room as soon as I could before anyone showed up. At first I was sort of thinking of just going home and calling it a day, seeing how today it was a lot more chaotic then usual. Hikaru and Kaoru have gotten into some sort of sibling rivalry after Haruhi uncovered which one was which, and back and fourth they couldn't go for a minute without making snappy remarks or throwing things across the room. Today, it was revealed that they both dyed their hair, and it was actually easy to tell which one was which. Hikaru had his hair pink and Kaoru's was blue. Or maybe Kaoru's was pink and Hikaru's was blue? I shrugged it off, knowing I'll figure it out sooner or later, maybe not at all.

I approached the big brown door that brought out the pink room, and as I opened it I saw how heavy it surprisingly was. At first, I saw nothing but black, and heard nothing but dead silence that sent a weight dropping down my stomach. All of a sudden, a hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed hold of my shirt. I gasped and yelled out as it pulled me into the darkness, the door closing behind me. "So, what brings you to the dark Magic Club, troubled one?" A small, dark feminine voice inquired.

"I came to meet with someone," I said, trying not to lose my nerve, "It's N-Nekozawa?"

"Ah, yes, He waits for you in the corner. Please watch your step."

I felt her hand on mine, my but my eyes tried to stay at the ground to see if they could catch my footing. It was pitch black, so I hesitantly let this girl lead me further and further into the dark room. Soon enough, I knew why she told me to watch my step because I tripped and fell over something that felt like a chair. It knocked the air out of me for a moment and sent a small, throbbing pain throughout the bruises of my ribs. But I somehow managed to get myself sitting on the chair, and in front of me, a match lit three candles of the candlestick, bringing out the pitch black, and holding the candlestick was none other that mysterious Nekozawa.

"So you've come after all," He said in that same tone, "Have you finally ditched that womanizing host club?"

"Actually I'm just here for that toy you mentioned yesterday," I said simply, but that only seemed to be a huge disappointment to him. Though he seemed to play it off with a forced and dark chuckle, "Oh yes. The curse doll."

Out from his cloak, he pulled out a wooden-like cat doll, "You know, you're not the first one who came in here today to get this misfortunate object."

"Wh-Who was the first?" I asked, trying not be awkward by giving him silence as my answer.

"You know him well enough, yet you forget his name so often. He's that one twin, the one who's less mischievous than the other."

"Is it Kaoru? Hikaru?"

He laughed darkly, and I sighed, "Just tell me what the color of their hair was and I might know."

"I believe it was, a very _bright_ blue," He clenched his teeth when he said 'bright'.

"I... Think it's Kaoru? Yeah, it's Kaoru."

"When he got it from me, it was clear that he wasn't going to use that doll on anyone."

I tilted my head, taking the doll, "Then what were his 'purposes' for buying it?"

"He never said why, but I believe he's just using it as a prop."

"A prop?"

"In an act."

"But he's not in the theater club though, is he?"

"No, not for any play, he's acting it out right now along with that brother of his."

 _Wait. He's not saying... Their entire fight is just one big act is it?_ At the same time, I felt like I shouldn't be surprised, but for this being one big scene, they sure did a lot of damage considering they practically destroyed the lunch room. "I've gotta say something then before-"

"Wait just a minute," As I got up to take my leave, Nekozawa's hand wrapped around my wrist, "Ryota, is it? Would mind staying for a bit? Tell me why you're getting Berzenef the curse doll?"

"It's just a present for my brother-"

"Your brother? Why give it to him to use?"

"There's a bully at his school who won't leave him alone."

"Ah, I see. But, Ryota, there's someone else in your life, is there not? Who treats you as if you were nothing to him?"

I looked at him in surprise for a moment, "Who-How did you know-"

"You give off the energy; The energy that you're being hurt. But you could use it on on your tormentor; To make him pay for the terrible things he's done to you."

I took one good look at him before firmly taking my hand out from his grasp and running in the opposite direction. But I didn't know where I was going now. I was trapped in pitch black again, hitting the walls, dragging my hand along them until I felt a door handle. Quickly, I turned it, and when the door swung open. The light shined down on my face once again as I practically tripped and fell out into the pink room again. I shut the door as it slammed with a loud noise that caught everyone in the host club off guard.

I found myself out of breath all of a sudden as I clutched the curse doll to my chest. I slid onto the ground, Tamaki shouting out, "Yuri! Are you okay?!" I felt the hosts' eyes on my as I began trembling slightly, the thought of my step dad's beatings and verbal abuse flooded my head. For whatever reason, I wanted to cry. _No one should ever know that. They don't need to know that._ _If Nekozawa was really being serious about cursing my stepdad, is this doll really more than a toy?_ I swallowed, as I felt Tamaki's hand on my shoulder. "Yuri, what'd he tell you in there?" I guess he saw that I was finally holding the curse doll as he almost screamed in my ear again, "And you got that doll too?! What're you thinking?!"

I stopped shaking, finally pulling it together and getting up, "It's just a silly toy for my brother," When I glanced over at the twins, that reminded me of my earlier thought, and I pointed at them, "Oh! And Hikaru and Kaoru are faking their fight! They were really just causing a scene this entire time!"

The room was filled with silence for a moment, then Hikaru scoffed, "Wow, way to ruin the climax, Yuri."

"You must be the life of the party," Kaoru stuck his tongue out at me.

Soon enough, the drama between the hosts began to unravel. Questions were raised on why they were fighting in the first place, their only answer, "We were bored and had nothing better to do."

I let out a sigh, shortly before Kyoya addressed me, "I guess I should thank you for putting a stop to this fight, Yuri."

"Oh, well you're welcome," I shrugged, I turned around to take my leave, after all it surprisingly was the end of the entire host service.

"Yuri," Kyoya stopped me again, "You know we all saw you shaking earlier. Are you sure everything's okay?"

I felt a hard lump in my throat, which I swallowed back, turning around only to say, "Yeah, it's just... Have you been in that room? It's freezing in there."


	10. Chapter Ten

**Hey. Sorry for the wait for this story. I haven't been up for writing it lately. I'm sort of losing interest in OHSHC, but I'm gonna try to keep it up. Thank you all for being so patient once again. By the way, the episode this chapter is set in is my least favorite out of OHSHC. I tried my best though lol**

* * *

I walked the short walk home as my fingers fiddled around with the curse doll inside my bag. I scratched at the wood, peeling little strips off of it until I approached the steps of my monochromic home. Though before I could lay a finger on the door knob, it was already slammed open, the door connecting harshly with the tip of my nose as a woman with blonde hair came storming down the steps, shortly after my step dad came out, not acknowledging the fact that I had blood pouring quickly out of my face, "Rosaline! Please, come inside we'll talk about it-"

"There's nothing to talk about you womanizing son of a whore!" "Rosaline" shouted, "You love that woman more than you love me! And I'm not going to stay here if this relationship is nothing but a lie!" It took me a minute to realize that the woman was a previous partner to him. She spent a month in Spain to visit her family, but she came back only to see that her spot on the bed was taken by Ms. Yori. No doubt she'll have her spot will replaced by someone else not too much longer.

After a moment of my face numbing up, it slowly turned into a throbbing pain. I sniffed as I saw my step dad chase after Rosaline, and with him out of the way, I finally walked into the manor. The blood from my nose dripped onto the maroon-shaded carpet, but blended in perfectly, leaving me with only one bloody mess to clean up. I walked into the nearby restroom, gently shoving a tissue into my nose and washing the blood off of my hands. I was just glad none of it got on my suit. Not only would it be difficult to wash off, but it'd raise a few questions or more if anyone were to see it. I replaced the tissue with a clean one before leaving the bathroom and walking into the living room, sitting on the couch only to take out Berzenef. _The old man already seems to be having a bad day already._ I moved onto taking out a sharpie, the tip of the marker barely touching the wood as I contemplated. _Would he leave me alone if he were to have more?_

Before I could write anything down, I was interrupted by Daichi's voice coming down the stairs. I looked over only to see he was holding Ms. Yori's hand while explaining the memories he had with Rosaline. In a way, he made it sound like she was better than Ms. Yori. "She once took me out for cake two days in a row, and she said she'd take us to Spain, a-and-"

"Sounds like she was quite a friendly woman," Ms. Yori seemed fed up as she let go of Daichi's hand at the last step, "But you know, we can still have a lot of fun together. We can go to so many places, eat all the sweats and treats you want. You name it!"

"Really?"

"Yes, of course-" She finally seemed to acknowledge my existence in the room, "Oh, Yuri. Your nose. What happened?"

"Uh, just a nose bleed," I shrugged, smirking a bit, "Got it right after that woman left the house. Have you seen her?"

I could obviously see that she was more than annoyed, but she hid it off as I could almost hear her teeth clenching, "Mm, yes. I could see why anyone could have a nose bleed over her. I'll be right back."

She went back upstairs, I guess to vent off her annoyance. Daichi stayed behind and sat next to me, "I got Yukio back today! She's a little muddy but she'll be out of the wash soon."

"That's great, Daichi," I replied, "What about that girl?"

"She's not picking on me, but she's still mean to everyone else," He looked in my hands, "What's that? Is that a toy?"

I nervously began to play it off, "Oh, y-yeah. I got it today too. You know they say if you write someone's name on this, it'll bring that person bad luck."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm." I paused for a moment before inquiring, "What's that girl's name?"

"Um... I think it was Hana... Hana Maria."

"Hana Maria," I repeated the name as I wrote it down on the doll's back before handing it over to Daichi, "Okay, now she'll forever be cursed with misfortune."

"Wow! That'll teach her a lesson not to be a big bully!"

It was good to see my little brother excited and full of smiles, but behind my friendly grin, I too could feel a tugging feeling of slight regret. _Dammit, it's just a silly toy._ Then again, if Nekozawa was serious about Berzenef, I don't think Daichi could go through everyday with seeing his father getting unlucky. Sure, I'd be amused to see him slipping on banana peels or just going through unfortunate days, but one of those days could be misfortunate enough to change our lives.

* * *

"What happened to your nose, Yuri?" Maru asked, tilting her head.

I furrowed my brow for a second in confusion, "My nose?"

"It's slightly bruised. What'd you do to it?"

I touched the sides my nose only to feel slight throbs in that area. "Oh, I uh... I just-"

"You got into another fight with someone, didn't you?" Aiya spoke up, and I could imagine her having a whole scene played out in her head of how I got this bruise, "But you taught them a lesson right? They won't be giving you anymore trouble?"

I stared at her for a moment, but seeing how her answer seemed to be better than nothing at all, I smiled, "Yes. That's exactly what happened, Aiya."

"Really?" Maru seemed more worried than Aiya, who was really just fangirling over my "bravery", "You reported it right? Was it someone from our school?"

"Y-Yeah. But I guess he's in different classes because I've never seen him before-"

"Hey you should make the crossdresser do all your stupid chores!" We were all thrown off by a child-like and bratty voice shouting in the room, "I'm not here to carry tea sets, I'm here to make women happy!"

That only reminded me that Tamaki took in a little boy named, Shiro, to be his apprentice earlier today. Throughout this hour of our host service, he's been having the little boy observe what it means to make women happy. By the looks of it, it seems that he wasn't catching onto it like Haruhi on her first day, and I guess he found out that she was really a girl in a boy's uniform.

"Would you excuse me, ladies?" I smiled politely before walking over to where all the hosts were gathered. "Hey, is everything alright over here?"

"Oh no, there's more of you," Shiro groaned before looking at me, "What kind of host are you, huh? Someone who give fake compliments? Another homo? Childish?! Where'd you get the bruise on your nose? I bet you're a target for bullies then, huh?"

I stayed silent, not enjoying how I was allowing this boy to be the advantage of insults here. He was a little boy for Christ's sake, and I wasn't going to let myself be tangled in his string of insults."Hmph, I can take care of bullies just fine," I said, feeling a tense anger all of a sudden, "Would you like to see how I take care of them?"

"Yuri, settle down!" Haruhi got in my view, "He's just a little kid!"

"That still gives him no right to disrespect you or anyone else," Tamaki said between his teeth before pointing to Shiro, "Put this brat in isolation!"

Out of nowhere, a giant cage came from the ceiling and was put over Shiro, preventing him from going anywhere else. _Wait, was that cage always hanging there?_ "This is no way to treat your 'loyal' apprentice!" Shiro whined, "Now let me out of this cage!"

When I realized that he was powerless, the tense anger inside my muscles were gone. I felt like a different person again, like back to the same old "Yuri" with less anger. It was surprisingly exhausting, like it was almost as if there was a flame in my stomach burning my insides and all of a sudden it just burned out. "Yuri?" Haruhi was still standing by me, setting a hand down on my shoulder and waiting for my response.

"I need to sit down," I said, walking away and finding a table next to the window, where I could sit in my own isolation. The tea was still warm, and it helped me relax somewhat. As I looked out the window, I could somewhat see my reflection. Somewhere in my mix of eyes, I saw someone who was being _abused_ , and suddenly felt as if a revelation came raining down on me. Moments ago, I felt the blood of the _abuser_. There was so much heat burning inside, and for me to be staring down at a little kid and giving him a threat like that, I could practically see through the eyes of my stepdad. He feels power when he raises his fist in front of me. He feels pleasure when he actually hits me.

I finally stopped thinking when I saw another reflection in the mirror, sitting across from me. Surprise, surprise. Kyoya was also joining me for a cup of tea. _I swear we need a bell for him._ "That won't be necessary," He said.

"Uh, what?"

"You were muttering how you think I need a bell."

"Oh... Uh, sorry. I guess I'm just..." I set my cup down, "I'm just out of it all of a sudden."

"Care to explain then? It can help relieve any sort of stress you're feeling right now."

I looked up at him. Kyoya wasn't writing anything. He just looked at me with trust in his eyes. I bit my lip and looked away, setting down the small cup before I could shatter it with my bare hand. I could almost feel the spark in my stomach, and hearing him ask if "I'm okay" every time something happens only feels like he's reaching into my core and touching that flame, either tending it or trying to snuff it out, "No... I don't know what happened back there, but it's nothing I want to talk about." I stood up, "I don't want you asking if I'm alright. I don't want you to worry about me _at all_."

The trust in his eyes was suddenly replaced with suspicion and I shivered in discomfort. I didn't express it though. He was staring right into my soul again, but I kept a firm look in my eyes so he got the message. Then he finally sipped the rest of his tea and got up as well, "We may be a host club, Yuri. But as you may have noticed, we also take the time to help those with trouble on their hands. I don't know what you're not telling me, but don't be afraid to speak up about it when you're here."

The firm look in my eyes softened just a little bit as Kyoya pushed his glasses further up his nose, "Now, if you don't have anything else to say, I'll be aiding Tamaki with training that apprentice of his. After all, it seems like he might need the help."

* * *

This section of Ouran Academy was filled with a strong, nostalgic smell of vanilla and cinnamon. For such a rich school, I didn't expect that it would smell the same like any other public elementary school. The next day, we went to the part of the academy where Shiro was learning his daily subjects. The purpose for ditching some of our own last minute studies was to somehow spy on him and see his own purpose for making women happy. More specifically, making at least one girl happy after hearing him state how he's _"running out of time"._ The real plan anyway was just to send in Haruhi and Honey-senpai, but instead for some strange reason we ended up following them without even wearing disguises like another uniform. The entire time we trailed them, Tamaki's face was just flushed a pure red as he kept murmuring his thoughts out loud, almost in a tone in which he saw the cutest puppy in the world. But eventually he pulled me into his fantasies by making me look at Haruhi dressed up in that middle school uniform, "Would you look at her, Yuri? Isn't she just so adorable? So cute!"

I glared at him, "Is that why you made her put on that dress-"

"Shh shh! Just keep looking at her. It's not everyday when you get to see her wear a mini skirt."

"Mm yeah, she looks fine."

His fantasies seemed to shatter at that moment as he turned to make me look at him, obviously offended, "You listen to me, Yuri Ryota-"

"Guys!" Haruhi turned around and hissed, "If you're just gonna barge in like this, why'd we wear these stupid disguises?!"

"Don't worry about it," Kaoru (I think I finally figured it out) said, "There's no one here to catch us."

Before I knew it, we were standing in a small elementary room, dim with light as a row of desks we lined up. It was strange for me to see something like this since the elementary I grew up in, there were table groups instead of rows. But we only had a short amount of time to observe everything before we heard faint footsteps echoing throughout the hallway. At the exact same moment we all hid under a desk as the footsteps grew closer. But shortly, they passed by and we all got up, thinking we were all in the clear.

"Guys," Haruhi sighed, "We came here to get the scoop on Shiro, so what do you think we should do now?"

"Well here's something interesting," Kyoya pointed out, and that drew our attention to the other side of the room, where a bundle of pictures were hanging on the wall.

We all approached him as he pointed a picture on the wall, Haruhi the next to say, "Hey, that's Shiro."

"So he's in the classical music club."

"He looks like he's enjoying himself-"

Haruhi was interrupted as we heard more footsteps again, this time it sounded like a group of kids. They were too close; Close that we didn't have time to leave without getting caught. Once again, we all took our places under the desk. I don't know if I was the only one, but I could feel an extreme fear building up at the moment when the door opened up, coming in a teacher and a group of small students. They were in preschool, and among one of them was my brother. _Oh no, if he sees me too soon, there won't be any way of explaining to the teacher of why we're here._ The woman was explaining how this would be their classroom in the next few years to follow. But as the group of preschoolers walked around the room, I felt one of their tiny legs trip over a part of my foot that stood out. I turned around only to see a little girl now on her stomach, beginning to cry loudly as I completely froze. She didn't see me yet, but I didn't know if I should say sorry for tripping a little girl. A little preschool girl for gods sake.

But before I kept my mouth shut as a pair of arms dragged me out from my hiding spot. I was petrified at first, thinking it was a teacher until I was thrown onto someone's shoulder's. _Teachers can't do that._ I was quick to realize I was being picked up by Mori, and with everyone's backs turned to focus on the little girl, we made a sneaky escape. But at the last seconds of getting out, I caught glimpse of Daichi's eyes tearing his gaze away from the little girl only to be looking at me in surprise. Figuring that we were out of trouble, I found that it was safe to wave for only a split second before being carried out from the room and settling down in the empty hallway.

"That was a close one," Tamaki let out a sigh of relief as the twins followed, "No kidding."

I was eventually put down and I changed the subject to, "So where do they normally hold the classical music club?"

"Where else?" Kyoya answered my question with a question, but gave me an answer any way, "In a music room."

"Okay, so where's that?"

Honey-senpai took my hand, giggling, "This way Yuri-chan! I still remember it like I've been here yesterday!"

The music room really wasn't that far away, it was just down the hall and to the left, and when we peered inside, we saw Shiro, isolated from the other students. Yet his eyes were glued sweetly onto a girl playing a crescendoing introduction followed by a homorhythmic melody. An innocent look in Shiro's eyes was something completely different from what we saw the day before, which was the behavior of an impatient brat. "Pardon me, mademoiselle," Tamaki was crouched on the ground, being at the eye level of a little girl as he gave her a white rose, "I've never seen a rose more lovely than you, my dear, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about that young lady playing the piano. Do you know her?"

"That's Hina Kamishiro," The little girl replied, smelling the rose.

"Her name is Hina?"

"That's right, but you better not fall in love with her."

"Why?"

 _Well, let's see. She's, oh I don't know, an elementary student and you're in high school?_

"Didn't you know? Hina has to move away soon. Her dad just got a new job in Germany. So they have to move there at the end of the week."

I peered through the window to observe Hina playing the piano once more, but another thing I noticed was that Shiro wasn't in that spot he was last time. In fact, he wasn't anywhere to be seen in the music room. _Oh shoot. Where'd he go?_ "What do you think you're doing!?" There came his voice shouting at us from behind the little girl, "I want you idiots to leave immediately!"

The hosts just stood there, and I glanced over at Tamaki, who apparently wasn't having any of Shiro's shenanigans, and in a flash, he picked the little boy up and settled him on his shoulders. "Put me down! What're you doing?!"

"It's time to go, gentlemen," Tamaki turned around and began to lead us back to the third music room. Shiro kept on thrashing around, but I couldn't care less about him being manhandled. I was more worried about anyone seeing us carrying around a little boy and seeing it as a kidnapping. Fortunately for us, there was no one around to witness this, and we made it back to the music room with no problem whatsoever. Shiro was finally put down, almost thrown on the couch actually.

"What's your problem, you big idiots?!" _Ah, there's that bratty behavior._

"I'm sorry but you're the idiot!" Tamaki snapped back, taking Shiro by surprise, "You said that you wanted me to teach you how to make women happy. But that's not it, is it? You're not concerned with the happiness of just any woman. You've got your sights set on one woman in particular. You only care about one, and that's Hina Kamishiro!" There was a pause before he continued, "But I'm afraid, there's nothing I can do to help you with that. Listen, Shiro. I know that I told you it's the job of a host to make women happy. But when you care for someone, you must find the courage to express what is in your heart! You have to tell her how you feel about her! You didn't come to me looking to become a full-fledged host. You want to be a full-fledged man."

 _Tamaki is actually a lot smarter than I thought._

"It doesn't matter anymore," Shiro let out a sigh, "I've run out of time. I just... I wanted to hear her play before she left for good. That's all."

"That piece she played, it's Mozart's sonata in D major for two pianos, isn't it?" Tamaki turned around and walked over to a giant curtain, pulling it to side only to reveal a giant grand piano.

"Wait a minute," Haruhi interrupted as Tamaki sat in front of it, "Since when is there a grand piano here?"

Her answer was followed by all the hosts responding one at a time, "Well this is a music room, after all."

"So why wouldn't it have a grand piano?"

"It is a music room, after all."

"It is a music room."

"It's always been there. We've just had it covered up."

I snickered silently, but it was shortly cut off by Tamaki's fingers danced on the keys of the piano. The grin faded off of my face as I looked at him in awe. _He's actually pretty good. I didn't know he could play._ I frowned for a moment. _Now that I think about it, I really don't know anything about anyone in here._

* * *

 **I hope this chapter was enough. I'll try to get to the next one as soon as I can (And by that it'll probably be another couple months until the next update xp)**


	11. Chapter Eleven

"Yuri! Yuri!" Daichi ran up to me, jumping in front of him as if to indicate that he wanted me to pick him up, "You remember that girl that took Yukio?"

"Yes?" I chuckled, lifting him up while walking over to the couch just a few feet away, "What about her?"

"I think that curse doll is working! She kept slipping and tripping all day long!"

I thought back to earlier when the hosts and I snuck into that elementary room, and when I "tripped" that little girl passing by. _So that was Hana then._ I still feel a little bad to be honest, especially when she was only five. _Wow, first Host Clubs with a mix of handsome guys (and a girl), and then a Black Magic Club that doesn't joke around with its dark crafts. Ouran's clubs certainly does have a lot to offer._

"Wow, so it's been hard for her to pick on anyone?" I replied.

"Mm-hmm! Oh, and I saw you in that elementary class too! You were leaving though with other people though..." He tilted his head and gave me a look of slight confusion, "What were you doing in there?"

"Um..." _He's only five. He'll believe anything I say._ "Well, you have to promise not to tell dad, alright?"

"Okay!"

"Good. Now, my friends and I heard there was a secret in that class room; Something _very_ important, and we were trying to see if we could find it."

"A secret? Ooh! What is it?"

"We didn't know. But it wasn't in there. It was in another room, and in order to find it, we had to talk to one of the elementary students, and _only_ an elementary student since only he knew." I must've been pretty good at telling this story because Daichi sure was falling for it as his eyes widened with fascination. This story was really another version of how we were trying to find out who Shiro was trying to impress A.K.A. "The Secret". But I'll be honest, when I tell it this way, it actually does sound pretty good to tell any kid his age.

"What was the secret, Yuri? Tell me!" Daichi laughed, bouncing on the couch a little.

"Oh, um..." I knew I starting to stumble on the story, "The secret..." _Think! What happened next? There was a talk with Shiro, then a master piano... Piano! Of course!_ I smiled again, scooting closer to Daichi, whispering in a tone like any storyteller would when it came to building up anticipation, "This is something you can't tell anyone."

"I'll zip my lips shut about it!" Daichi whined, "What is it?"

"It was a song."

There was an awkward pause as my younger brother blinked in confusion and disappointment, "A song...?"

"Yes. But once you listen to it, it will bring you good luck for a short time only. Play the song, and you'll forever live with happiness you never thought you could have. That could mean everyday would be a good day, or everything that's hurting you now will never hurt you again. But only the elementary student could play it."

That really seemed to get his interest back into my little story as his eyes lit up once more. Though my own confidence of how I managed to put a story together in a matter of seconds was shortly taken away when the front door opened, coming in was our father and Ms. Yori, surprisingly home early. "Welcome home, daddy!" Daichi waved his arms before running over to leap into his arms.

"Woah, you're getting heavy," The old man chuckled, "Soon, I won't be able to carry you. How's my little man today?"

"Today was great! The teacher gave us extra time to play outside, and then Yuri just told me a story about-"

"Daichi!" After I almost snapped, I mouthed, _"Secret."_

"Oh right...!"

"He told you what?"

"I can't tell you. It's a secret. Sorry."

"A secret?" Ms. Yori had a playful, questioning look on her face, as if to play around with him for his enjoyment. Whereas my stepdad just looked me in the eyes, as if to say something at first. I stayed silent, ready for anything he was going to do or say. But he only scoffed, looking down at his younger son before smiling, "Well I had a great day too. They even let me out of work early. What do you say we go into town and have a little bit of fun tonight?"

"Yeah!"

He looked back at me, "You might as well come along if you've got nothing better to do."

I blinked, more than surprised. Either he must've had a really good day or... What else could he be? I knew something about him was different today. For once, he looked "sober"; He wasn't the same man that'd remove his belt to whip me with whenever I came into his sights. It was strange since whenever he looks at me, I'm used to seeing a look of disappointment, disgust, or in other cases, anger. When I found myself lost in thought about this difference, I finally spoke after being quiet for a while, "R-Right, I'll... I'll join guys in a second. Let me just change into something more appropriate."

 _I might as well enjoy it while he's calm right now._

* * *

"So you've been exchanging e-mails with Hina everyday now that she's in Germany?"

"Yeah, more or less," Shiro answered, "I like her, but she can get pretty jealous for an elementary school girl. She'd be upset if she knew I was with you ladies, so let's keep this our little secret."

After maybe a week had blown by, Shiro was successful in playing that song with that one girl he likes, but with that, he's apparently become a new favorite to the girls in this recent session. All the ladies (And I mean _all_ the ladies) were gathered up next to him, adoring and obsessing over his naughty personality. The only girl that wasn't present in that little circle was Aiya, sitting across from me as usual, glaring at the Shiro, "I don't like this 'naughty type'. He just sounds like a little brat."

"Well, that's why we named him that kind of host, but he's not staying for long," I said, "That's just a guess judging by Tamaki's behavior right now."

The King of the Host Club was almost ready to go one-on-one with Shiro, overly jealous at all the attention our new host has been getting.

"Hmph," Her behavior switched from disgust to interest as she looked back at me, resting her chin on her hand as she smiled, "So, Yuri. I've been thinking about this for a really long time now, and even my dad's been encouraging me to do this since I've really talked about it a lot."

"What would that be?"

Her cheeks were red for a moment, her eyes ridden with slight anxiety. Judging by her body language, I leaned forward just a little before saying, "There's nothing you need to be nervous about. Not around me at least."

"Okay, okay," She inhaled a deep breath before letting it out, "Do you remember when I said we should hang out some time?"

"Of course."

"Well... I really think we should. I don't know how often you're busy, but... Would you like to spend some time together outside of school?"

 _She's a lot less seductive than she was last time she asked me something like this._ I smiled, actually liking the idea of that for once. Although I almost frowned again because especially knowing Aiya well enough, this would be more than a simple hangout. She was a lot less seductive about this request this time, which is why I was why I liked the idea for once. I kept my warm smile on my lips, shortly followed by my response, "Yeah, we can definitely find some time to do that."

"Really?!" Aiya's eyes lit up, "That's great to hear!"

"Where would you want to go?"

The light in her eyes shortly disappeared, "Oh, um... I've never really thought about it actually. I was hoping I could leave that decision to you."

I too could've sworn I was getting pale at that request. _Oh god, where do girls like to go when it comes to these things?_ "Oh um..." I stammered, "Well... There's a lot of places I'd like to go to. I can't really pick one."

Aiya only returned the answer with one of her sweet smiles, yet somehow she sounded so impatient; Almost like she wanted this date right now, "It's okay if you don't know what to chose," She stood up, walking around me but brushing her fingers up my arm as she finished, "I'll be looking forward to it anyway."

She left the music room, much like the other ladies as they began to take their leave. Even after much effort of trying to get him to leave, Shiro eventually left the music room as well, and judging by Tamaki's exhaustion, he'd hopefully not be back for the next service. The rest of the hour passed by as usual. We cleaned up the tea sets, brushed off the crumbs from where the cake was eaten, and wiped down the tables. Haruhi left a little early due to her head wrapped up in studying, and shortly after, we gathered by a large table. From there that's when we'd normally decide what our next cosplay should be or what to do for the next service. But we were all waiting on Tamaki, who had his head against the table, every once in a while sighing heavily and making some comment about Shiro.

"The boss really looks like he could use a break," Kaoru (I'm finally getting it right this time) said, followed by his brother, "No kidding, it looks like he could melt on the table any minute now."

That was when Tamaki snapped his fingers and returned to his normal, confident self, "You know, that's just what I was thinking," He stopped only to stand up, "Gentlemen, I say that we should put hosting on hold for now and go on a much needed break."

"Yeah, but where?" Both the twins said at the same time.

"Well let's brainstorm, shall we?"

The ideas went from spending a day at one of their houses, to going over to the mall, or walk around the city, all ideas which sounded really boring. "What about you, Yuri?" Kyoya asked, "You've been quiet for a while. Do you want to give your opinion on all this?"

"Mm, I'm not exactly the best person to ask," I murmured.

"It's okay, Yuri-chan!" Honey-senpai said, "What would you want to do? I bet your idea is better than all of ours!"

I sighed, "I don't know. We could... Take a trip to a museum...?"

"Wow, that idea is even worse," Kaoru snickered.

"We're already learning a lot in this school, Yuri," Hikaru began, "We're not going to some other place to learn more."

"Well they're not that boring, you know."

"Yeah, but they're not exciting either."

I only scoffed and said nothing else before everyone resumed the discussion. I only rested my head on the palm of my hand while using the other to tap my fingers against the table. Though it seemed like minutes later, someone finally emerged with an idea that no one couldn't argue against, "Why don't we go to a water park or the beach?" Though that idea, like sinking in the water, made me sink to my stomach.

"Now that you mention it," Kyoya began, "My family is running a new theme park called, The Tropical Aqua Garden. It's not open to the public yet, but if we're lucky enough, we could have access to it."

 _"No way!"_ Is what I would've said if I wasn't interrupted by the agreeing voices filling the room. Maybe that theme park would be fun. That is if I knew how to swim. Yeah. I'm fifteen years old, but no. I have _absolutely no_ experience in swimming.

"What do you say, Yuri?" Tamaki looked at me, "How would you like to soak your feet in the water for bit?"

I choked on my answer, wanting to be completely honest. But being the dummy I am, instead I said, "Sure. Why not?"

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter wasn't good. I've mentioned this in my previous updates, but at this point I'm sort of forcing myself to write just so I could get out of my writer's block. I think it's working, but be prepared if there's not an update for this in a while.**


	12. Chapter Twelve

I plucked each string pathetically, not exactly sure what song I was playing or who I was trying to annoy in this mansion. For a full two hours this afternoon, I wasted my time in the basement, scaling up and down each note and string on my violin all while singing quietly to each sound it made. For a while, plucking each string made me feel relaxed and anxiety-free, making me forget that I had to go to some theme park with the host club today. Though when I remembered that, the anxiety came back. I tried to pluck the E string in attempt to get back into that state of relaxation. Though being overcome with the fear of water, it was surprisingly difficult to do so. A dreaded feeling clung heavily onto my stomach. It was the same feeling of whenever I had an exam or my step dad was coming at me with his belt. Only this time, half of it was because I didn't want to reveal my inability to swim. The other half, my bruises and scars were still visible. Not that I was planning on swimming anyway, but being with these kind of boys, _anything_ could happen. Like how those reckless twins would pull me into the water and watch me drown.

Suddenly, the sound of my buzzing cellphone almost made me drop my violin. Anxiously, I laid down my instrument and pulled my cellphone out of my pocket, corrupted by my fear of water (or at least thinking about it). On my screen was an unknown caller, to which I cleared my throat before answering, "Hello?" At the sound of the voice, I almost dropped my phone, "Kyoya?! H-How did you get this number?"

"I have my own sources, Yuri," He said, "And my question is when are you coming out?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"We've been parked out here for a while. So whenever you're ready, we can head over-"

"I'll be out in a second. Hang on."

I hung up, shortly after putting the violin back in its case and running from the basement, back upstairs into my room, pushing the case under my bed. I ran out of my room, almost running into the maid who was carrying a laundry basket. She was slightly pissed off at my lack of manners. _Hopefully, dad didn't hear that._ As I reached the last step on the stairs, I finally slowed down a bit as I approached the door, opening it slightly only to see there was a black, expensive looking car parked out in the front, which I could only assume was the one Kyoya was in. I breathed in, trying to relax a bit so no one could notice the anxiety I was carrying right now.

As I approached the car, a man in the front stepped out of the vehicle. He was dressed in a suit and tie, and he opened the back door for me. I looked at the man, not exactly used to having someone open the door for my arrival. Though he didn't pay any attention to me, not even when I stammered out, "Um... Thanks..." I looked inside the car, and sitting relaxed in the back seat was Kyoya, who also didn't acknowledge my presence until I seated myself next to him.

"Hey," I said a little awkwardly, "Sorry I kept you waiting."

"We were only out here for a few minutes," Kyoya replied, all while keeping his eyes on his black book, "I was starting to think that you forgot about today."

"Really?" I forced a chuckle as his eyes glanced over at me, "Is that what you're going to swim in?"

"What-" I glanced down at my own attire. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't anything suitable for swimming in either. I simply wore a pair of black cargo shorts and a grey short-sleeved button down. "Oh, well I don't own a swimsuit, so this was as close as I could get."

"You're welcome to borrow one of mine-"

I spoke too quickly, "Oh, n-no thank you. I mean, I appreciate it, but your size may be a little bigger than mine, and... I really don't plan on getting my feet wet anyway..."

"Are you sure?"

I only nodded, grinning reassuringly. Fortunately, he shrugged it off. _Good._ I sat back in the seat, after realizing I was tense. I glanced out the window, hoping that the clouds in the sky would turn into an overcast. I sighed silently, having a mouthful of words all of a sudden as I sat up straight, "Um, Kyoya?" I looked over at him, his eyes glued to his book, but I knew he was listening, "Not to be annoying whatsoever, but do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"Well, it's about earlier. When you called me, I mean."

"What about it?"

"How did you _really_ get my number? I rarely tell anyone that, so I gotta say, it was... More than surprising to say the least to hear you on the other end of that call."

Kyoya stopped writing, "I know you're not gonna like what I tell you, but I talk to your step father every now and then. Can't say we talk frequently, he seems like a very busy man-"

"You talk to him?" I must've sounded more bewildered than I thought because Kyoya quickly looked at me at the raise of my voice.

"Mostly by calling his work number," Kyoya said, calmly.

 _Well that answers they started talking._ I inhaled deeply and tried to relax again, "Um, what do you guys talk about?"

"You, for the most part. I update him on how you're fitting into Ouran, same as I do for Haruhi."

"Oh, her too?"

"Mm. But I must say, Haruhi's dad is a lot more enjoyable to talk to than yours. No offense."

"None taken." I shrugged, not finding that surprising at all.

"Your dad really doesn't seem remotely interested in you, which is a bit concerning."

 _Oh no..._ "But it's nothing you should worry about," I spoke too soon, again. After a few seconds of silence, Kyoya nodded, "Right. As I recall, you didn't want anyone worrying about you."

The way he said it made me shiver. It was in a tone of sarcasm, but at the same time, it was almost as if he was starting to piece together the relationship between my step-dad and I. I shrunk back in my seat, resuming to look at the fair blue skies.

* * *

"Hey, Yuri?" I heard one of the twins' voice, but I knew the two of them were hovering right above me.

I opened my eyes, almost closing them as the sunlight crept into my vision, "What?"

"You know what a bathing suit is, don't you?"

I sighed, closing my eyes again, "I didn't have one."

"Why didn't you get one?"

"Does it matter? I'm not gonna swim anyway."

"Well we were gonna play Marco Polo, and Haruhi said she wouldn't swim either."

"Did you ask Honey-senpai?"

"He's drinking coconut juice."

"What about Mori?"

"Eh."

"Well I'm not in the mood to get wet, so you can play with what you've got or pester Tamaki."

"You're no fun," I could hear them slip away from my personal bubble, and I finally opened my eyes. This theme park wasn't so bad I guess, but it seems pretty big to get lost in. It's got water slides, a current pool, and a jungle too. Kyoya even said there might be wildlife in some parts. _Speaking of which._ Kyoya wasn't sitting too far from me. He was like about a table away from where I was sitting, enjoying the scenery while sipping on something that could easily be mistaken as an alcoholic beverage. I took a drink of what I had as well, which was just plain lemonade. While doing so, I kept thinking back to the car ride earlier, and about how Kyoya brought up the lack of interest my step dad had in me. _Why is it his business to report everything I do in school anyway? Is it so if I do anything bad it'll give the old man a reason to break my ribs?_ I crossed my arms, looking away in slight annoyance. I turned my focus to my bare feet, although it didn't last long as I found my gaze going back right to Kyoya. This time, I felt my gut soften a bit.

I couldn't stop thinking about the things he said, but how my step-dad's lack of attention towards me was "concerning". It even made me think back to when Renge was our manager. Specifically, it was when we were filming for that stupid movie, and that moment when Kyoya intentionally caressed my cheek (By the way, that scene had the girls going wild). Even now, I can't forget how "gentle" his touch was. It was a fuzzy feeling to me. Yet at the same time, it made me feel like a dog with its tail tucked in between its legs because the gentleness was so foreign to me. I raised my hand to touch the spot he laid his hand on. _When was the last time someone was gentle to me? Five? Six years ago?_ Even I couldn't be easy on myself as I almost dug my fingers into my cheek at the memory. I dragged my hand off my face, finding myself smiling softly and maybe even blushing. Deep down, maybe Kyoya can sense my, what Nekozawa called it, my "negative energy". _Maybe he is worried, and... Can't help it, or has his own way of expressing it at least._ My smile faded. _But who knows? Either way, no one can know why I'm giving off negative vibes._

I looked away and back at my feet. By now, it seemed as if the twins have found a way to amuse themselves, Honey-senpai was swimming in the current pool in front of me, and Mori was sitting next to Haruhi. I sipped the last few drops of my lemonade but before I had a chance to set the glass down, something sharp and yet hit the side of my face that made me yell out. The glass fell on its side and didn't break. As I touched my face, the same feeling happened once more, only this time it landed on my back. I turned around, only to see that Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki were in the middle of a water gun fight. I ducked their next shot, groaning in annoyance as most of their aim is mostly towards me instead of each other.

I got up, getting hit in the back of the head once more. Rolling my eyes and growling silently, I walked away from the whole rumpus going on behind me and went over to a much more quieter area of the park. There weren't any tables or chairs to sit in, and not too far from the concrete ground was the other half of the current pool. I shivered, just at the thought of how I could fall in. But cautiously, I sat on the ledge of the pool, dipping my feet into the water, which gently dragged my feet to its current. From not too far away, I could here the chaos going on between the twins and Tamaki. It wasn't too bad actually, after all I was far enough from everyone. Though the silence ended with a soft "thud", but it was only a matter of seconds until the atmosphere of this therapeutic park went haywire. The water of the current pool began to get a little stronger, and from the other side, the noise of running water began to sound like a river or a waterfall. I kicked my legs out of the pool and stood up, only now seeing that there was a wave of water coming my way, and struggling inside of it was Honey-senpai.

"Yuri-chan!" He cried.

My gut twisted at his cry, and on instinct, I stretched out my arm into the pool, far enough for him to grab it so I could pull him in. "Honey! Grab my hand! Quick-"

Though as I felt his tiny hand grasp mine, I was no chance against the tide. Before I knew it, I was neck deep in the water. Not too much longer, I was down under, unable to breathe or see.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

It was almost as if every bone in my body were noodles as I found it difficult to move at first. I could barely move at all actually, and it was almost as if there as a big boulder pressed up against me. Seconds later, I could feel again, as that sensation was missing previously. I could feel wet, cold drops dripping against my face, arms, and legs. My muscles ached in protest as I tried to move them, finally opening my eyes to the shade from the palm tree leaves. I kept them open for a while, as if I was waking up on a lazy Sunday. I stared up at the rain dripping on my face, and stayed that way for what felt like forever. My mind was blank, and when I attempted to move again, was more successful than I was before for at least sitting up. I felt completely stiff, not wanting to move again at all. As I ran a hand through my tangled hair, I could feel that some of it was covered in mud, same as my arms, legs, and torso. There were a few scabs here and there, but nothing serious. I rubbed my head with both my hands as a headache began to stir. _What happened? First there was a commotion between the twins and Tamaki, then there was a loud rush of water and then..._

 _That's right. Honey-senpai and I got sucked right into the current pool._ I looked up. For a minute I forgot I was actually at a theme park because the first thing I processed was that I was surrounded by nothing but jungle. The sounds of wildlife echoed in the air, but there was no sign of Honey-senpai. "And just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse," I muttered. With strong reluctance, I pushed myself off the ground, brushing off any mud that still stuck to my clothes. The rain was pouring down hard now. Pushing my hair back, I looked around once more, and in the ground were planted footprints, smaller than my foot size. _That better be you, Honey-senpai._ I inhaled, moving in the direction of the footprints, which was almost difficult to see because the thick fog was steaming off the ground. While trudging through the bushes and leaves, once in a while letting out a whimper of pain from the soreness of my limbs or the stinging scabs.

The footprints came to sudden stop as I approached a tree, noting the height of it and how there was no sign of him up there either. _Don't tell me he climbed that..._

 _You've got to be kidding me._

"Honey-senpai!" I called. No response. At least I knew how he got up there as I saw a vine hanging from the tree. I tugged on it, praying that if it could hold Honey-senpai, it could stand my weight. As I lifted myself up onto the vine, I only prayed that my years in gym class would've paid off for this. One at a time, I inched slowly up the tree, pausing one at a time to see if I could get a better look up there. "Honey-senpai!" I called out painfully as my abs burned, "God, please tell me you're up there!"

There was no response but the pouring rain, and once again I climbed a little closer, calling out his name again. Nothing. I sighed shortly, hanging my head down and feeling my bones freeze at the sight of how high I was. _There's no way he could've climbed this high. That is if he was afraid of heights._ Then from up above, I could hear a branch snap, a sign that it was a good time to climb back down. Cautiously, I loosened my grip on the vine, just enough to let me slide down inch by inch. Though after only a few seconds, the branch above me snapped again, dropping the vine along with my stomach. There was no time to scream out in surprise as my weight pulled down the vine and the branch it was holding on to. It seemed as if I was in freefall for only couple seconds before I collided with the ground, bringing further pain to my body along with a faint ringing in my head. I sat up only just a little bit to brush the mud off my face, which was probably just spreading it all over. The pain from falling didn't last long, yet I still stood up aching from head to toe.

The rain was beginning to pour gently than before, and somewhere in those grey clouds, there was a hint of sunshine. I looked up at the tree I attempted to climb. _No getting back up there now._ I turned my gaze back and fourth and around the jungle. _Where are you, dammit?_ Though my luck finally came back as I heard a sudden echo, loud enough that I could make out the words, "Don't tell me Mori-senpai's out for my spot as Haruhi's daddy!"

For once I was glad to hear Tamaki's familiar, loud-mouthed exclaimation, and that meant it lead me to where he is, along with, possibly, the others. I walked in the direction of that voice, taking a bit longer than I thought. The sky began to clear up again, and soon the sun was burning irritatingly through my dark, muddy clothes. The annoying flies were getting attracted to my disgusting scent, and as I kept moving forward, I couldn't hear any other noise of complaint from Tamaki or any mischievous chants from the twins. _And so it appears that I might be lost._ Nonetheless, I still kept walking, knowing that no matter I go, I know I would still get out of this park. _Then again, where was the way we came in again?_

Though for being alone at the time being, I stopped as soon as I heard a nearby hiss. The hairs on my neck stood, knowing that maybe I wasn't really alone. I looked around, and the sound of wildlife was distant this time. There were no birds chirping over me, and the fact that it was silent only where I was standing made shivers crawl on my spine. I kept looking around anxiously, and there was nothing I could spot. _Maybe it's Honey-senpai._ Though I was reminded that maybe it wasn't was the hissing repeated itself. I backed away cautiously, not knowing where it was coming from until I felt a pair of fangs sink into the side of my foot.

"NGAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

My scream was unexpected and surprisingly loud as immediate tears sprang from my eyes (Somewhere in that scream I think I cursed). It was loud enough to make the hiding birds emerge from the trees. _Oh god! It hurts!_ And the pain took full effect immediately, and I collapsed back into the muddy ground. In the corner of my eye, I saw the culprit slither away into the bushes. For a quick bite, the sting was deep into my skin; Deep enough that I could almost feel it in my entire leg, and did I already say it hurt like hell? I lifted my leg to look at my foot, and the blood from the bite was leaking out pretty quickly. A weird, numbing sensation tingled throughout my body. _What if the snake was dangerously venomous? I could die in minutes._

 _Well, better than getting killed by a coconut, I guess..._

Though all my senses weren't dulled as I heard the sound of a gun click. _Wait what?_ I looked up, and in front of me was a uniformed man pointing a rifle at me. Despite this maybe being a hallucination from the venom, I was still terrified. "I got a suspicious figure here!" He spoke into his radio.

"Wait a minute-"

"Don't move!"

 _Or I could die from getting shot._

Though before I could feel the bullet hit my chest, a familiar, calm toned voice spoke seconds after the man told me to freeze, "No need to be trigger happy. He's with us."

I blinked, sitting up only to see Kyoya emerging from the leaves of the bushes, and the man lowered his gun. Shortly after him, Honey-senpai emerged from the bushes, "Yuri-chan!" He pounced on me in a big tackle-hug, and painfully, I accepted it. He went onto say how he thought I was dead when he dragged me out the current pool, and he only ran off to find some flowers to "decorate my corpse in". My response to that was only a nervous laugh. It was within seconds the voices of the host club almost spoke at once.

"Yuri, there you are!"

"We didn't recognize you under all that mud!"

"Thank goodness you're okay!"

With Honey-senpai still in my arms, I managed to stand up, Kyoya speaking once the hosts have settled down, "Sorry about him. I forgot to specify to my police force that we had other visitors here. Are you okay?"

"Uh... My leg is numb...?" I responded, only to begin losing my balance. Almost falling right onto Honey-senpai, I only fell into Kyoya's arms as he rushed over in a flash to catch me. I wanted to protest, but I couldn't as the numbness was replaced with a cold, fuzzy feeling. I shivered, chuckling once, "I feel a little funny... What kind of snakes do you have here, Kyoya?"

"Hang on, Yuri," His voice was muffled as he spoke, "They're getting a doctor for you right now."

"Mm, okay," Was the last thing I said, sleepily. The following events after that seemed like nothing more than a blur.

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter was a little uninteresting. Next one will probably be a little better, and speaking of which, things are gonna get busy for me in a few days, so expect an update in a couple months or so (You know the drill). But thanks for reading and reviewing :3**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Y'all better buckle up for this chapter lol It contains a long and complicated back story. (Also mentions Yuri's eyes which are a little funky, which I mentioned in chapter two. Just incase any one forgot.)**

* * *

 ***** **Kyoya's POV** *****

The hour was almost midnight, late due to the hospital visit we had to pay for Yuri, and god he looked horrible by the time we got there. The venom inside him was bad enough that he was puking nothing but blood. Fortunately, he was given treatment just in time before the bite became fatal, and what made the stay longer was so he could be given time to recover from the wound. For the most part he was conscious, seeming a bit fatigued, pale, and reporting that he was seeing a bunch of bright patterns spinning around the room. Honey-senpai, although promising to stay by Yuri's side until he was discharged, fell asleep within minutes, and Mori carried him out of the room for the evening. Haruhi's excuse for her leave was that she had a busy day ahead tomorrow, and Tamaki left with her to ensure that she made it home safely. Then Hikaru and Kaoru left minutes due to their boredom, which made me the only one left. But it wasn't a bother. This was a family owned hospital, after all.

"How long do you think I'll stay here?" Yuri murmured.

"Not too much longer, I'm guessing," I replied, "It might depend on how the bite is. You might have to stay overnight if it's infected or you're not feeling any better than you were before. How're you feeling now, anyway?"

"Foot still hurts but... I'm not feeling too bad either. I mean, I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary anymore."

"That's good to hear."

"Other than that, I'm just ready to go home and call it a day," He chuckled once, "I'm only looking forward to a hot shower more than anything."

I laughed along with him, "With all that dirt on you, I bet."

"Think my step-dad will recognize me after..." Yuri gestured his hands over his muddy and dirty figure, "This...?"

"Well, with eyes like yours, I'm sure he could pick you out from a crowd of seven billion."

"Oh, right..." Keeping a small smile on his face, he shrunk into silence, and not wanting to end the conversation this way, I picked it up, "They're interesting, by the way."

"What is?"

"Your eyes."

"Oh, they're... Yeah, they're weird." As I pushed my glasses further up my face, it was clear enough that I could see that under all that filth, Yuri was _blushing_.

"Anyone in your family have eyes like that?"

"No... I mean, I don't think so. I got my green eye from my mom, but I guess the other one is just... It was sort of there when I was born. Maybe I got it from someone else, but who knows. I don't remember how they taught this stuff in science and-"

I gave him a puzzled look, "'Someone else'?"

"Yeah, I mean-" Yuri went silent, as if he realized what he had just said.

"Who else would you inherit that eye color from if not your dad?"

A mix of confusion and curiosity changed the atmosphere, and Yuri murmured to himself, "How do I say this...? My dad; My 'real' dad... He was... He wasn't really my... God, it's a really long and complicated story, Kyoya. I don't know if you'd want to hear it, or if you'd understand it."

"I'll leave it up to you if you want to tell it," I said, "But either way, I'm still listening."

* * *

 *** Yuri's POV***

There was always a look in his eyes whenever he talked to me, and combined with a small smile, I could almost feel his expression warming me up in a good way. It was reassuring, patient, and trusting. I sort of relaxed a bit before adjusting myself to a comfortable seated position, inhaling a closing my eyes as I began to recollect the memories that have been locked away as if they were dusty storage in an attic.

"Okay..." I finally said, "I've actually never really told anyone about this. When I do, their reaction is pretty horrible. But if you could, don't be too critical?"

"I won't."

"Th-Thank you... I really mean it."

I took a deep breath in as the first vision came to my head, and everything I pictured, I would try to explain and describe it as best as I could. There was a woman; A beautiful woman with a strong, yet soft look in her sparkling eyes, green like the leaves during the summer. Her hair was streaked black, her lips were pale along with her frail skin, which was hidden under a skin revealing outfit and a cotton dress coat. This woman was my mother, the only person cut out from this picture was the man that I shared my blood with, someone she told me wasn't my father if he wasn't there for me. Knowing the job she used to have, I guess it would make sense of why I would never know or meet this man. But I could remember during that time when I was barely a toddler was that we lived in a one room apartment, which had a small kitchen, a springy mattress, a couch, and a dresser with a dirty mirror sitting on top.

My mom worked two part time jobs. During the day, she'd work at a day care not too far from where we lived, taking me with her while wearing appropriate attire that wasn't too eye catching to the other kids or any other adult. But during the night, she'd dress in outfits that intended to reveal her skin, but she wouldn't take me along. In her words, she said that she worked a place where her only job was to "dance", but it was only for adults. She'd come back around midnight or later, covered in sweat and occasional bruises. Though she only did it to make a little extra money, as the day care didn't really give a whole lot to her.

I paused, looking at Kyoya while my face turned red in embarrassment. This was the part of the story where my audience would judge, either calling my mom objectifying names or calling me a "whore's son" (A nickname my step-dad especially likes to call me since he learned about her backstory). But Kyoya said nothing, though I could tell that he wasn't expecting me to say I was born a commoner and my mom worked part time as a stripper. Finally, he asked, "Did she love you?"

I blinked, "Yes... She absolutely did." I wasn't lying. She was still there to make me smile, gave me hugs and kisses whenever I scrapped my knees from time to time, and spent every payment she earned to keep us fed and under a roof. Any left over and she'd save it, telling me that it'd be for a special treat someday. Whenever any other toddler at the day care made fun of my eyes, she was always there to say that they were special and beautiful.

"I gotta say, Yuri," Kyoya said, "This is interesting so far."

"Yeah..." I hesitated, "I mean, it's not something you hear every day, at least. Do you want me to keep going?"

"If you're comfortable." Not even being halfway into this story, I kept summarizing the memories that projected on to my mind. There came a time when I was a few weeks from turning three, when I witnessed an argument between the father of one of the kids and my mom. His voice was loud, first saying how he saw her the night before, and after that he began saying a mouthful of insults, and the last thing he said was, _"Why should be let a slut like you watch over these children?!"_ With that said, he stormed out, holding his son close and leaving my mom wide-eyed and almost crying. A week later, she was fired from the day care, and she worked full time at the gentlemen's club, which also meant my contact with her was almost limited. She grew sadder, and I could barely see her smile those days. Yet she still stayed strong, using that strength to put a smile on my face and make me feel like the apple of her eye.

Things would change on the day I turned three, where my mom took me to have dessert for dinner. She spent the money she saved for a giant, fuzzy teddy bear and a new blanket just as soft as the bear, which she gave to me as a present. As we were walking home, a man from behind approached us, holding something in his hand. It was my mom's wallet which he claimed had fallen out from her purse. Though as she took it from his hand, he recognized her as the dancer he saw a few nights ago. A few things I could remember from that moment was how red my mom's face got, either from surprise or embarrassment. Next thing, the guy was a huge flirt, but really friendly towards her and me. Then, there was something he said that made her smile for the first time in a while. Their conversation lasted for only a few minutes, but is was long enough for me to see that they really did like each other. His eyes didn't wander, they were directly on my mom's face the entire time. Finally, the man offered his number, but she didn't have a cell phone or a computer, so she only gave him an address.

From then on, we'd be getting letters from that man daily, starting out as getting to know each other a little better. What I've learned at first was that he was a conductor and a composer that went by the name, Souma Ryota, which we only referred to him as Mr. Ryou for the first few months. But as soon as the letters they exchanged became more about their personal lives, it came to a surprise that he grew up and still lives in the wealthiest communities. My toddler-like mind only imagined him living in a gigantic castle with thousands of rooms, one of what might contain a safe of his riches that he could've bathed in daily. My mom would later admit to him that we were commoners, and her job at the gentleman's club was a living. Despite that sad truth, he kept writing on, and soon the words in the letters were about love. Then there came a day when he sent an invitation to an orchestra concert, and of course we attended in the best clothes we had. Our seats were up in the balcony, and as the music played below us, it was almost as if I was floating to the gentle melody as it almost like a sweet lullaby. The sound of the cellos, basses, and violins was a sound my young ears haven't heard before, and it was something I wanted to listen to forever.

The relationship between him and my mother began to build after that night, and before I knew it, the next invitation was to have dinner at his home, and this time we didn't have to walk a long distance since minutes after we strolled out of the house, a jet-black car pulled over by the side walk, and from the back seat, Mr. Ryota invited us inside, and from there, the driver drove us out of the city and into a more rural area. I could remember being intrigued by the amount of trees and color that was at this place, and it the middle of it, was a mansion made of wood and stone. Not what my imagination had in mind, but I loved it, and the dinner that evening wasn't like the premade frozen meals we'd get every day, it was served fresh and warm. Though while it was the best food I've tasted, I ended getting sick in the stomach. Rather than driving miles back the apartment, we spent the night at the mansion. The mattress my mom and I slept on was soft and cozy compared to the old springy one back at our place.

Soon enough, spending the night at Mr. Ryota's place became a weekly event for us, and it'd be one of these days when we'd be living there. I knew it wouldn't be too much longer on the night I woke to the sound of orchestral music. Following the noise, I knew I wouldn't be calling him "Mr. Ryota" anymore from the moment I saw him get down on one knee in front of my mom. I'd be calling him "my dad".

I finally stopped talking as my mouth became dry, feeling like I've been talking for an eternity. Kyoya was silent until he cleared his throat, "Well, that's quite the story, but I have to ask, how long did their relationship last-?"

"He died a while after I turned eight," I spoke quickly, "Had a heart attack right in front of me, but it's nothing I want to get into."

Kyoya nodded, "I understand."

"Sorry if it was too much to take in."

"Nothing to worry about, Yuri."

I smiled shortly before frowning, looking up at the clock, "Um, hate to change the subject, but I think I should probably go home before it gets too late."

"Well, considering you managed to tell a story that long without expressing any complaint about the bite, I'd say you're good to go. Mind if I give you a ride?"

Although hesitant at first, I nodded, "Of course you can, and... Thanks for listening, I guess."

* * *

 **Pretty sure this was a lot to take in for you guys too. I might edit or redo some of these chapters, but I hope you liked it.**


	15. Chapter Fifteen

I held my breath as a stepped out of the rain and into the warmth of the mansion, quietly turning around and gently shut the door while remembering to lock it. Through the small peephole, I watched as the black car in the front drive away into the dark. Inhaling silently, I began creeping through the first floor, blindly making my way towards the staircase while looking around anxiously for anyone hiding in the shadows. For all I knew, my step-dad could be watching my every move. I was now a few feet away from the stair case, but suddenly stopped as I smelled the scent of smoke from not too far away. I could feel my insides freeze up as the rough, deepened voice of my step dad asked, "So, where've you been that made you decide to come back at midnight?"

I swallowed, turning towards the voice and seeing a faint hint of his face in the light of his burning cigarette, "Just hung out with some friends today."

"Friends?" He scoffed, as if what I said was a joke. Finally, he turned on the lamp beside him, "Why the hell do you smell like a swamp?"

"I... That's where we were today," I lied.

He growled silently, "What kind of business do you and a bunch of wealthy brats have in playing in a swamp? And I don't know if you noticed, but you just trailed mud right into the house."

My breath shook as I looked back at my tracks. I held my wrist, tensing up as I heard the old man approaching me, muttering, "I forgot you could be such a child." Then there came the swift slap of his palm across my cheek, first feeling numb then shortly burning in pain afterwards. Before I could touch where he struck me, his fingers were tangled in my hair, tugging them for me to meet his furious gaze. The scent of smoke and alcohol radiated from his breath. "God, you smell like a damn pig..." I looked away, closing my eyes as he began his slur of insults while tugging at my hair, pulling at it as if he wanted to rip off my scalp.

"D-Dad... Stop..." I whimpered.

"Are you trying to boss me now?" He pulled harder than before, and I couldn't hold back the painful gasp. He sneered, "Well let me remind you that you're standing under my roof, and as long as you are, you'll always be a weak, powerless little son of a whore." _Ah, there it is._ "And don't try to act like you have control because you're nothing but a weak little fu-"

"Daddy?" The small voice of my brother came from the top of the stairs.

Our father softened up, yet still kept his firm grip in my hair as if he were about to lift me off the ground, "Daichi... What're you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep... What're you guys doing?"

After a few seconds or more, he let go, reluctantly. From my lip, I tasted blood from where I bit to stifle my cries. "Nothing," He said, and he looked back at me, "In fact, we were just going to bed."

I looked at him, one tear running down my eye. An eruption of curses danced on my tongue that I so badly wanted to say. Instead, he only looked at me as quivering weakling. I walked up the stairs, holding my head and feeling something warm and wet coming from my scalp. Before Daichi could say anything to me, I marched straight into my room, grabbing a pair of pajamas and walking out quickly, leaving Daichi with unanswered questions and uncontrollable worry. When I went to shower off the dirt and mud, there was also blood running from my hair and down the drain. I ended up walking out of the bathroom with a small, cold-soaked towel held to my head, holding it down tightly thinking that my hair could fall out from the area where he pulled. I walked into my room, sinking into the warm covers of my bed, shivering and sniffing as weak tears flooded my eyes.

For a good hour, I tossed and turned as unsaid words spun around my mind. Being fed up with my angered words, I threw my sheets off, getting up and shrugging into my robe before seating myself at my desk. From my bag, I pulled out a pen and paper and began projecting my thoughts onto paper-

 _I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! He's the biggest jackass in mankind and son of a bitch anyone will ever know! He's a monster, a damned psychopath, and I wish he would drop dead! I wish he never came into my life! I wish he was just gone!_

My hand shook, and I dropped the pen, looking over at the words that we now emptied from my head. At the sight of my thoughts, my rage slowly began to die down. The words gave me second, yet frustrating, thoughts. _But if he were gone, I'd have nowhere to stay. Daichi would have no one to call his father._ I stood up from my chair, switching off my lamp before walking back to my bed calmly and laying back down. Before I closed my eyes, I gave my mind more food for thought. _As long as he's keeping me in his home and keeping me fed, the least I can do is still call him "dad"._

* * *

"Guys, what's all this?" My reaction to all the swimsuits and bikinis spread out around the room went from confusion, to absolute mortification. "Please tell me this isn't our cosplay for today."

"No silly!" The twins laughed, Kaoru following, "But feel free to try one on, we won't judge."

"I think I'll pass, but that's going on here?"

"Well, while you were blanking out from your snake bite, we've decided that our next big break will be at the beach!"

I could practically feel myself go pale, speaking in a tone of sarcasm, "Perfect, that's just what I wanted..."

"Great! We just can't decide which swim suit would best fit Haruhi."

"I already said this one!" Honey-senpai came running to us with a blue one-piece swim suit, "Haru-chan would look absolutely cute in it!"

"Yeah, but we vote no," Hikaru said, "We think should wear something that expresses her... 'Femininity'."

"What do you think, Yuri?" Kaoru asked, "Wanna offer your opinion on this?"

Before I could say anything, Tamaki ran towards the boys like a bull, shouting, "You punks had better quit sexually harassing my little girl! I've had enough of you!"

The twins shrunk, "That means we're not going to the beach?"

I cheered mentally, imagining myself throwing my hands into the air and saying a big and loud, "Hell yeah!"

Tamaki spoke a little more calmly this time, "Who said that we're not going?"

 _And there goes my moment of relief._

Followed by my paling physique, a rise of agreements and questions interrupted the silence (Ahem, I was the 'silence')

"What say you, Yuri?" Tamaki pointed at me, "Wanna get soaked in the sun for a bit?"

"Nope! Hell nope!" Is what I would've said if I was high on confidence. Instead, all that came out was a murmured, "Yeah, sure. Sounds cool..."


	16. Chapter Sixteen

"Now they want to go to the beach," I told Jiro, who was currently busy with preparing tonight's dinner, though I knew he was listening. Since I joined the club, I've pretty much kept him entertained with my misadventures with that group. His favorite by far was the recent one in which I was bit by a snake.

"Really?" He replied, "Well, that'll be exciting."

"For them, maybe. But there's open water, Jiro. It's terrifying and you know I can't swim!"

"Well, let me remind you that you don't have to go into the water, Yuri, and I'm sure as long as there aren't any blood thirsty snakes, you'll be alright."

"Oh, haha..." I slipped off the counter, crossing my arms, "We could've gone to like an orchestra performance or an opera."

"Not all of life are full of instruments and music," Jiro turned around, plating on the sushi one at a time, "It can be full of adventure as well. For you, I guess it's that club that provides it."

"And your point is..." I raised my eyebrow.

"Be open to it. Life is short and everyday is meant to be a new experience. So if you decide to go the beach with your friends, try to have fun, and maybe you'll actually enjoy it."

"Hmph..."

"Although speaking of instruments and music, have you been playing recently?"

"Mm, not really."

"Growing tired of it?"

"No. Nothing like that at all. I just..." I leaned my elbows on the counter, "I mean, I still like it. I'm just not motivated to playing, I guess. At this point I've played every sheet of music I could find, so there's nothing really new."

"Ah, I see." Jiro paused to push the plates towards the approaching servant, who took them and carried them out of the kitchen. He looked back at me, "Have you considered playing something new? Maybe coming up with your own piece?"

"Coming up with my own...?" The words drifted off, and my interest in this conversation was elevated past the roof tops now.

Jiro smiled, "You could try it. But you can't compose anything with an empty stomach. Go on and eat now."

Though rather than eating what was given to me, I took Jiro's words to heart, and only several minutes later, I excused myself (Not that anyone would care anyway), first going up to room to collect my violin and some blank paper before retreating into the basement. Under the single lightbulb that was down there, I plucked random notes, trying to hear the right sound that would mark the beginning of my composition.

* * *

I'll admit. The beach wasn't as half bad as I thought it would be. The temperature was warm and comforting, the sand felt nice beneath my feet, and the sound of the calm waves gave a somewhat therapeutic feel to the atmosphere. What could make this day at the beach any better? Well, maybe if we weren't open for business, I'd call this a perfect day. But no. Instead Tamaki just _had_ to bring the girls along, which really wasn't a day off for anyone. So with them here, it really didn't make the atmosphere as relaxing I thought it'd be, and it especially made it difficult to concentrate on my composition as Maru really couldn't keep her mouth shut about how big and blue the water was, and Aiya was leaned up right up against me. I could almost feel her breath right on my skin, which was rather unsettling.

"What're all those notes there?" Aiya pointed at them.

"Um... They're for a song...?" I glanced at her, as if I expected her to know what they were in the first place.

"You're writing a song?!" Her eyes lit up, and her outburst caught Maru's attention as well, "A song? Well please, do tell what it's about if you don't mind?"

"Well, I really don't know how-"

"What kind of song is it?" Aiya nudged closer, "Is it happy, sad, intense?"

I looked at the first few notes I've written down, humming them in my head before simply answering, "It's sad, I guess..." I drifted off, looking at the next empty spaces. _What note should go there next? High A? No C. High C. Then after that maybe it can repeat?_ I wrote in a C note in the staff, which would go on for three beats before going down a note. From there, it would go straight back to the beginning note, which was a high G. Though as I played it in my head, I almost felt, dissatisfied with what I've written so far. _Feels like I'm just repeating notes now._ Sighing silently, I tried to work through the negativity. _Maybe if I start adding in some quarter notes, that could make the song speed up a bit and make it a little more ear-catching and interesting?_ Though as I began writing in the quarter notes, E, F#, and G, I froze as I now felt the girls on either side of me. I could hear them loud and clear as the breathed heavily on my shoulder and some parts of my face.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, though they didn't seem to get the message that I was a little unsettled by the lack of personal space. Well, then again, in the Host Club, there really is no such thing as personal space. "I really like watching you work, Yuri," Aiya sighed, sinking further into me as if she would fall asleep at any moment. Clearly she was relaxed, and Maru agreed with a silent head nod. Girls really like this stuff? That's really… Odd? I wrestled through the heat from both the sun and the girls to write in the other notes, which was right back to half and whole notes. Maybe after writing a couple or more, I was right back to repeating what I've written at the beginning, which was rather frustrating. But looking back at the piece I've written so far, all of it looked and sounded disastrous. Maybe this is just the wrong song for me. I flipped the paper over, drawing down my staff lines, treble clef, and time signature. Though this time, the notes couldn't come to my head. It's gonna be a sad song, but I guess I can make it… What's the word? 'Majestic'? 'Sweet'? Maybe make it sound like it came out of a fantasy-like land?

I tapped my pen against the paper, stuck in my own thoughts, and despite not writing anything, Maru and Aiya still remained interested. Again… Very odd. On the brightside, they didn't stay like that for long as soon as Maru let out a terrified scream before standing up and backing away quickly. Aiya did the same, squealing in fear, "Centipede!" I looked over, shivering a bit only to see a tiny worm-like insect inching slowly across the sand. "It came out of nowhere!" Maru panicked, continuing to back away, "I swear- I mean it just started crawling up my foot."

Before the little guy could crawl up my leg, I slipped off my sandal, taking it in my hand before pressing it onto the centipede, squishing it further into the sand until I could hear a soft crack. I took the sandal off of the ground only to see what remained of the bug. It was really nothing but guts. I scoffed.

"Wow, and I thought Haruhi was more hard on that little guy," I looked up, only to see that Hikaru and Kaoru were standing right there, "No kidding. Who knew Yuri could be a whole lot more merciless."

"It was just a small bug," I shrugged, "I didn't know you guys were so soft-hearted."

I looked back down at my sheet of paper, "What do you guys want?"

"We're playing a game, that's all," Kaoru answered, "Wanna play?"

"What kind of game?"

"We're trying to find Haruhi's weakness, and whoever finds out first wins."

"I'd play but..." I lifted up my sandal to reveal the squished centipede once more, speaking sarcastically, "I'm afraid I just killed my option."

"Well, bugs don't freak her out, so I think you're good there."

"Then I think I'll just stay out of it. Besides, I've got something better to do rather than be a jerk."

"Oh, look who's talking."

"To girls, I mean."

As they scurried off, I sat alone and in silence as Aiya and Maru seemed to have kept running away from what was already dead. I sighed softly, feeling like a soft-hearted jerk the more I looked at the bug guts. _This is exactly what my step-dad would've done. He always seems to pick on someone smaller than his own size._

 _Just like me, I guess._

"I'm sorry..." I whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Are you talking to your sandal?" I heard Kyoya's voice, and immediately I turned red, struggling to put my sandal back on, "Um, n-no?"

"So I've heard you're not participating in Hikaru and Kaoru's game?"

"No. Are you?"

"Everyone is, and I've got a lucky prize for the winner."

From his breast pocket, he pulled out a few pictures all of Haruhi with longer hair. She even looked a little younger. Once again, I shrugged, "I think I'm good."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

"So if you won't play, then what will you do?"

I paused, gazing down at the empty staffs, "I'm trying to compose something."

"Really?"

I could feel him get closer, "Yeah. It's not coming out how I expected though. I don't know how Mozart made it look so easy."

Kyoya chuckled, "Well I'm sure he struggled as well, so it's nothing to beat yourself up over."

Finally, he sat down in the sand, a few inches away from where I was. "But if you're just going to sit here, then you don't mind if I join you, do you? The girls and hosts seem pretty occupied and yours seem to have... Run off, I guess."

"Be my guest." _You can come closer if you want._ I looked away, trying to turn my attention back to my note sheet after that intrusive thought. I could almost feel my heart pounding through my chest, glad that I didn't say that thought out loud. I glanced back at him only to see had his big black book he always writes in. _Maybe he's listing possible weaknesses for Haruhi. Maybe he's writing something else. Maybe he's just..._ I could feel myself cooling down a bit, suddenly interested in his writing hand, writing words that would probably be unknown to me. But when I caught what I was doing, I forced myself to look away again, losing interest in writing my own piece and instead focused on my feet. I could feel myself warming up uncomfortably, inside and out, as soon as I realized that watching him write was actually... Attractive.

 _Oh no... Am I really going gay for him?_ I honestly wanted to slap myself so badly right now. _No. Don't be silly. Kyoya probably doesn't like me anyway._ Though thinking of that didn't make it any better. _But I sorta like him though... No. We're just friends. Let's keep it at that for now..._

 _And until then._

* * *

"You've been sitting there for a long time, Yuri," Haruhi's shadow lingered over me, "Is that what you've been doing all day?"

"Yeah," I replied, "Not really up for getting my feet wet or anything like that."

"Well, is there anything you wanted to do? You could come shellfish hunting with me, and there's been plenty of them today. What do you say?"

I stayed silent for a moment, looking down at my sheet and seeing how I didn't make any progress so far, "I guess while there's still light out."

I stood up, following Haruhi hesitantly towards the water while holding my composition in one hand. "Just look around here. This is where we found most of them today."

"What're you gonna do with them?" I ask, cautiously stepping into the fairly cool ocean water.

"Well, they're on the menu tonight. Sounds good, right?"

"Heh, yeah."

I looked around the shallow parts of the water, but all I could see was sand and seashells. Haruhi got nothing from where she looked, so we moved closer to the rocks, which was a little more muddier, but we seemed to be more successful with finding more shellfish. "Oh, found a crawfish!" I called, picking up the small creature as Haruhi walked over, allowing me to put it in a small pink bucket. "Nice," She said, "I found a clam not too far from-"

We were interrupted by unfamiliar voices that didn't belong to the girls or the hosts, which came from the tall rock that hovered over us, and whoever it was, the girls didn't seem very appreciated or comfortable. As if we read each other's minds, Haruhi and I looked at each other, somewhat worried and alarmed before running around the rock to find a way up. Though we didn't have a plan for when we finally encountered these strangers, which made me hesitant as we finally ran up the rock. Haruhi was in front of me, tossing out aggressively the shellfish from the bucket, which landed on the one of the guys who was seconds away from pulling one the girls any closer. _Okay, that works._

"Why don't you quit bothering them!?" Haruhi shouted, "Weren't you jerks listening? You better just leave them alone!"

These boys were a lot older than us, almost reminding me of those kind of punks from those surfer movies. "You little runt!" The first guy in front marched forward, obviously going for Haruhi until I stepped forward, unsure of what I was going to say, and when I couldn't say anything, he said, "Oh, so you want to pick a fight too now, huh?"

"We don't have to go that way. But if you hurt anyone here, that could be an option."

"Alright show me how tough you are then!" He shoved me, hard enough to make me stumble and drop my empty composition (Not like I really needed that anyway), and when he laughed at my clumsiness, I threw my fist right at his jaw. The girls gasped, one of them making a run for it down the rock while two others were still restrained by the other man.

I shook the pain out from my knuckles as I watched the guy straighten up. He rubbed his jaw, and there was a burning rage in his eyes as he growled, "Oh, you're in trouble now!"

"Mess him up, man!"

Within seconds, I found myself too slow to defend as his fist connected with ribs, knocking the air out of me. Yet before I could regain my breath, I could feel myself being dragged over towards the edge of the rock. Haruhi tried fighting back, but the boy who was holding the girls let go of them, shoving Haruhi to the ground, which only made me struggle even more. "Hey! touch he-him again and I'll-!"

"You'll what?" I now was being held off the edge, my heels the only one in contact with the rock, "Don't act so tough you little wimp!"

I growled, trying to push forward to avoid falling backwards and into the water God knows how deep it is. But that only seemed to make him laugh, "Here's an idea. How would you like to take a dip?"

I couldn't hold it together anymore, my eyes widening in fear as I struggled even more, "No-! No- Wait a minute!"

"Hope you can swim!"

"NO-!"

He shoved me backwards just as Tamaki and the twins got here, and I felt myself falling for a few seconds before my back touched the surface of the water, and within seconds I was beneath the surface. Every breath of air left my lungs, and when I breathed in through my nose, all I could feel was the stinging, salty water in my brain. _Oh god! What am I supposed to do?! They don't know I can't swim!_ I kicked my legs and flailed my arms, but that only seemed to make me sink lower into the bottomless ocean, and the more I did so, I could feel my vision getting blacker and blacker, and my lungs were on fire. Soon I began losing the energy to wrestle through the denseness of this water, and the dark circles in my eyes soon blocked out everything completely as I couldn't find myself hearing the ambient and muffled noises or see if anyone was coming after me.

* * *

 **And on that note, I'd like to quickly announce that I gonna try to compose the piece that Yuri is writing in this story which is actually pretty fun so far. It might take me a while, but I hope you're enjoying the story anyway ;3**


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Hey so since I'm a little picky with my writing, I changed a small part of chapter one that's going to be mentioned in this chapter. While I'm at it, I know I'm spoiling some of what you'll be reading soon, but just to be safe, anyone who's sensitive to subjects such as suicide shouldn't read the second half of this.**

* * *

 *** Kyoya's POV***

It was easy to get those trespassing boys out of there. After Hikaru and Kaoru nearly beat them to death, we took their IDs and told them to leave, and they did so without another fight. All of us were on the rock, watching as they began exiting the beach. Everything seemed to be fine until Haruhi gasped, struggling to get the words out of her mouth, "Oh no... Oh crap-! Guys! Yuri's still down there!" She was at the edge of the rock, looking down at the water below. Every hair on my body stood up, and we rushed over to ledge as a series of thoughts began evading my head. They seemed to be sprawled out all over the place that I couldn't keep up with them. _How long has he been down there?! Why isn't he coming back up?!_

Haruhi was seconds away from diving in, but I held her back, making sure that she wasn't going to get in anymore danger than she already was earlier. But substituting her was instead Tamaki and Mori-senpai. "One of you call for a doctor! Make it quick!" I looked back at Haruhi and the twins, and they ran off the rock while I stayed, waiting for some kind response from the two that were submerged under the water. Seconds later, Tamaki popped up, inhaling deeply and looking back up, gasping, "I couldn't find him! It was getting too deep down there! Did Mori come up?"

I stayed silent. _Has he really been down there that long? If that's the case then he could be... No._ "Go back down there!" I shouted, "Try looking again!"

Without a question, he dived back under, where he stayed for a few seconds. Maybe more. My eyes wandered the deep blue water, waiting and looking for any kind of movement. At this point, seconds felt like endless hours, and the deepest and darkest part of my gut had a feeling that Tamaki and Mori-senpai would be coming up the surface holding Yuri's corpse. _He couldn't have survived for that long._ Though just when I thought today was going to get worse, the two boys emerged from the surface, Mori holding Yuri in one arm and not wasting any time swimming towards the shore. But I couldn't feel relief. Not when Yuri looked blue and laid motionless like that. Haruhi and I ran off the rock and onto the sand just as Mori and Tamaki hurried out of the water, Tamaki panting, "He's not breathing... Anyone know CPR...?"

"Lay him down; Flat on his back," I spoke quickly, and they laid him gently in the sand before I kneeled down, inhaling deeply. There was no doubt I was nervous, not only because this was my first time administering CPR, but the worst thing that could happen this day is if Yuri were to die right here. I moved my hands to his face making him look up a bit before moving them to his lips, parting them slightly to open his mouth just enough for the air to come in. _Here goes nothing._ I breathed in again, prepared to give him a "kiss of life". Though before I lowered my mouth to his, Yuri let out a soft choking sound as he arched his back upwards, puking out a mouth full of water before coughing and gasping for air. I felt relief, as did everyone else. I helped him sit up as he still struggled to breathe. "Deep breaths, Yuri," I said quietly, "Just take it easy."

His eyes finally opened, though just by looking at them, it was easy to tell he was still disoriented and confused, "What happened...?"

"You almost drowned, Yuri-chan!" Honey-senpai perked up, "We all thought you were a goner, but Kyo-chan saved you!"

"Kyoya did...?" I knew were close to losing him again, so before he could fall back on the sand, I swept an arm under his back, catching him just in time as he fell out of consciousness once more. Though as long as he had a pulse, I wasn't worried. I heard Tamaki sigh tensely, "Well, that was quite... Intense, I guess."

"It was..." I replied, keeping my eyes on Yuri's restful state, noting how he was sort of leaned up against me, "Why don't we just go back to the hotel now and make sure Yuri gets whatever treatment he needs." I swept my other arm under his legs, picking him up as if he was a piece of paper. For a few minutes, we said nothing to each other. That was until we made it out of the beach area when Tamaki broke the silence, "Haruhi... Why would you confront those men like that? What made you think you would stand a chance?"

"Well, I wasn't alone," Haruhi said, "Yuri was there, but even he got into trouble-"

"That's no excuse! Don't forget. You're a girl!"

I could see that Haruhi had stopped walking, "Senpai, I'm sorry if you're upset, but it doesn't matter if I'm a girl and they were boys-"

"They could've hurt you! They could've done the exact same thing they did to him-"

"So what do you think I should've done? Those girls were in trouble and we had to do something? Would it have been better if I let Yuri handle it by himself? It sounds like you're fine with him facing up to them alone, but you're acting like I did something wrong!"

Tamaki paused, and I looked back to see that he had stopped walking. "You don't think you did? Fine then... But I'm not speaking to you until you admit that you're wrong!"

* * *

 *** Yuri's POV***

 _It was the sound of Daichi's small cries that woke me up, and although I tried to sleep through it, I couldn't for very long. Lazily, I rolled to my side, throwing the covers off of myself before leaving my room. Tip-toeing down the hallway, I entered my baby brother's nursery. I peeked into his crib, "Shh, Daichi... Please don't cry. What's wrong?" He obviously couldn't understand me, so he just kept on crying. I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary, which was a very good sign. "Is it a nightmare? Do you want mom...? Sit tight. I'll go get mom. She always knows how to make you feel better."_

 _I left the nursery, quietly sneaking down the hall towards the master bedroom. As long as dad isn't in there, I should be fine. Though I didn't even have to turn the doorknob as it creaked open by itself. The bed was empty, so I was glad not to find my step dad sleeping there, though my confusion rose when I saw that even my mom wasn't fast asleep under those big, thick covers. "Mom?" I stepped further into the darkness, following the light that was coming from the bathroom. Walking closer and closer, I came to a stop when I stepped into something wet in the carpet. I looked down, and in the glowing light, I could see that what I stepped in was water, which was also coming from the bathroom. I swallowed, "Mom? Are you in there?" I walked slowly this time, feeling a weight in my stomach when I heard the water running from the other side. Yet there was no splashing or other sounds of movement, and the water became warmer and warmer as I got closer to the door._

 _I put my hand on the door knob, turning it slowly until a heard click. I pushed it forward, slowly while looking at the floor which was covered soaked in water, and mixed in was something red which inched closer and closer towards the tip of my foot. I held my breath, following the trail of blood that came from the overflowed bathtub, and bathing inside the crimson pool was my mom, looking straight at the ceiling as if death had warmed over her. "Mom?!" I burst in, nearly slipping in the puddles as I skated towards her and when I finally got close I slipped to my knees in the bloody puddles, looking to the floor only to see a razor blade not too far from the tub. Regaining my ability to stand, I supported my balance on the edge of the tub, now looking at my mom's pale, emotionless face. "Mom...?" I whimpered, "Mom, this isn't funny... What's wrong? why're you...? Mom, please... You're scaring me. Stop it-" She wasn't responding or looking at me. Her green eyes stayed at the ceiling and they were glassy as if she were crying out every tear from her head. "Mom, please!" I slipped to my knees once more, now drenched in my mother's blood and forgetting how to breath as I became choked with emotions. "Mom, no...! Mom... Help... Someone help, my mom she's...! Help me, someone...!"_

 _Finally, I let out a cry that could barely be heard, and I covered my eyes, not wanting to look at my mom's corpse and her bloodbath. From here, I could still hear the cries coming from Daichi's nursery along with rushing footsteps. Coming into the room, I could hear my step dad's first words, "Holy mother of... Yuri, get over here..."_

 _I looked back at him, "Sh-She's..."_

 _"Did you not listen to me?! Get over here! Now!"_

 _"She's dead, dad-!"_

 _"I said come over here!" He stormed over to me, gripping me by the arm and dragging me away as the world began to crumble around me._

* * *

I could feel my chest tighten as the images began to fade away, but in my mind they were still clear as day light. To loosen the tension, I sat up quickly, breathing in deeply and feeling my heartbeat through my ears. I could feel sweat running down my forehead and body, drenching the sheets below me as well as the previously soaked clothes I wore when I got tossed into the sea. Everything felt absolutely warm, yet it was so dark as well. Though even after my attempts to take deep breaths continued, I still couldn't find myself to relax. What made matters worse is that I found myself in a room I knew wasn't mine. I shivered, jumping at the sound of the tapping at my door. "Yuri? Is everything alright in there?" That was Kyoya speaking from the other side. _Good to know I'm not in a stranger's house._

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," I forced myself to say, "Why?"

"It almost sounded like you were crying in there. Are you sure everything's okay?"

To my realization, I discovered that part of the sweat on my face was combined with tears. I sniffed, "Yeah, pretty sure I'm good." _No, I'm not. I need air._

I tossed the covers off, swinging my legs over the bed and getting up. I walked over to the door, opening it just in time as Kyoya was about to walk away. "Oh, you look..." He was slightly surprised at my shaken state.

"Yeah, I look pretty messy," I said, "Um, which way is outside? Or I mean. Where can I go tp get some fresh air or something like that...?"

"There's a balcony not too far from here. Follow me."

He lead the way down the hall, asking me, "Are you hungry at all? We've got a lot of crabs in the dining room."

As good as crab meat sounded right now, my appetite shrunk after an image seeing my mom's corpse in the bloodbath flashed before my eyes. I held back a gag, "N-No, I'm good."

Kyoya opened the door into a dark room, turning on the light. It was larger than mine. Then walking up to another door, he opened it revealing a small balcony that let it the cool air. I held onto the railing, breathing in deeply, or at least trying to. But each inhale was a shaky breath that wasn't silent to Kyoya's ears, "Look, I know you told me not to worry, but anyone will ask if you're alright when the see you shaking like that."

"I'm said I'm fine, Kyoya," I pursed my lips, swallowing, "I'm just... A little shaken up from a bad dream I guess."

"Oh, what about?"

"M-My mom, and how she... And how she died..."

Kyoya was silent, not expecting me to talk much about it, though he stayed knowing I probably did have a few words to say. Although, it brought some stress off of my shoulders, so I talked on, "I haven't thought of that in a long time, and it was something I didn't want to think about. I don't know why I'm thinking about it now."

"Well, not too long ago you were talking to me about your family's life," Kyoya said, "Supposedly, the mention of your mother's life could be what triggered it?"

"Maybe..." Though looking back on it, I could recall those moments building up to her suicide that night, and it all started after she was married to my step-dad, the same time when my unhappiness started as well. First impression we got of him was a flirtatious millionaire with a kind heart. That was first, and when we found out the real man he was, my mom felt like nothing more than a prisoner under his wing, and he only used me as a toy for whenever he was angry. First, he'd shove me around or push me into walls whenever I was in his way. Though those pushes and shoves would turn into slaps and whips from his belt. So many times, we wanted to leave, but why we stayed was whenever he'd play his victim card, telling us either he works so hard, that he didn't want to be alone, and without him, we'd be lost. So we were basically trapped and left with no way out, and the color in our life soon would fade to gray. My mom's sadness would get worse when she was pregnant with Daichi, and but even my step dad wasn't there to support her. He wasn't even there when she went into labor, and after that, that was the only time he'd care. Not for my mom or me, but only for Daichi.

"Yuri?" Kyoya tapped me on the shoulder, which snapped me out of my flashbacks.

"S-Sorry," I stammered, "Did you say something?"

"No. You just seemed... Disoriented for a moment."

"Oh... Well, thanks for catching me on that."

As if to keep me out of thinking too much about my mom's death, Kyoya changed the subject, "You look better than before. Earlier you looked rather pale and a little blue."

"Pale and blue- Oh, the whole... Drowning incident? Yeah, that sucked."

"Did something happen while you were under there?"

"Like what?"

"Hit your head on a rock? Encountered a jellyfish? You were down there for a long time, Yuri."

"Oh right. Um..." I tapped the tip of my toes against the cold floor, "I know I probably should've told you this sooner, but I can't swim Kyoya."

He blinked, "You can't swim?"

"No... But I guess I should start learning how to, especially after this."

Kyoya mirrored my movements, placing his arms on the railing and looking at the far-flashing clouds in the distance, "Funny you should say that. The boys told me that Haruhi would consider enrolling in martial arts outside of school. So I guess the both of you will have something new to learn at some point."

"Why would she do that though?"

"You weren't awake to hear this, but Tamaki was quite upset when he heard that Haruhi went up against those boys like that without having a way to protect herself. So of course, we were all concerned."

I recalled that incident earlier, nodding, "Yeah... But I wasn't any better."

"You took the hits for her on the other hand..." I could sense his eyes were on me now, so I looked into his eyes, "And when you weren't coming up for air, I gotta say you had me more than worried."

I couldn't hold back a chuckle, "Were you really that scared?"

"Well, it's bad enough that the both of you got hurt in that incident, it'd be worse if you got killed."

I kept the smile on my face, not really saying anything. When Kyoya caught me staring, he tilted his head a little bit, "What?"

"Nothing," I gazed down, "It just seems that even when I told you not to worry, you really can't help it."

Kyoya smirked, chuckling as he looked down at the ground two floors below us. Though before he could say anything else, thunder shook the clouds above us, and a few seconds I felt small raindrops touch the tip of my nose. "I guess that means we should head inside now," Kyoya commented, "What do you say?"

"Well, I'd stay out here actually," I replied, "As much as I like the rain, I think getting soaked once is enough for the day." I walked in with him as he closed the doors behind us.

"I think I'll go back to bed now," I yawned, "You have a nice night, Kyoya."

"Same to you."

I walked out, smiling dumbly and forgetting that earlier I was dreaming about my mother bathing in a tub of blood, and when I went to sleep, I dreamt of something better. It didn't have my mom, my dad, or anyone in my family. I dreamt of Kyoya instead.

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed. Now that I'm finally out of my writer's block I'm very excited to get back into this and my other stories. Hope you're still liking it as well. Maybe if we're lucky enough, I'll post a chapter later or tomorrow (We'll see though lol)**


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Okay, super random, but I've been sort of thinking of Yuri's voice, and who would, like you know, "be his voice" lol. So if you guys had to choose between Mike Faist or Ben Platt, who would best fit this OC? Leave it in your review (Or you know, if you want to review. No pressure lol)**

* * *

Today was rather easy for the most part, and it would be like that for the next couple of days because of an exposition for cultural clubs today, which included drama and choral clubs from other schools. What made it better was that it wasn't mandatory, so rather than attending, I sat in my math class, finishing up some homework from my morning classes before working on my composition. It started out better than the first place, and I actually made it to the third staff this time. _Maybe if I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to make two pages worth of notes today._ "Um, Yuri…?"

That is of course unless Aiya would leave me alone. But remembering not to be rude, I looked up to meet her gaze. "You're not thinking about attending that exposition today, are you?"

"Wasn't planning on it," I replied, "What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking since it's such a beautiful day outside, I figured I'd walk around the school for a bit. Would you like to join me?"

I looked out the window to eye the cloudless blue. _And there goes my muse._ Although reluctant, I figured a little bit of sunlight wouldn't hurt. "Of course, Aiya," I nodded, and after packing away my notebooks and pens, Aiya intertwined her hand with mine before leading me through the crowded hallways until we were outside. Accompanying our presence were the sound of birds singing in the Cherry Blossoms. "So you're redoing your song?" Aiya finally spoke.

"What- Oh yeah," I said, "Wasn't too happy with the first take on it."

"Is it any different, or is it supposed to be sad?"

"Um… Sort of a combination of something depressing but something a little happy too."

"Uh huh…" She seemed disinterested in what we were talking about before, and judging by how she sort of slowed her pace down, I knew that there was a reason she brought me out here, "So I've been meaning to ask you this, but I guess you were too busy. But you haven't forgotten about what you said to me a week ago, right?"

My eyes wandered for a moment, "What did I say?"

She giggled, "I asked you about spending time outside of school together, and you said yes. I also wanted you to choose where we would go."

I squinted my eyes, trying to remember as I stopped walking. Did she really ask me out? Did we actually have that conversation?

"So have you put any thought into it?"

"Uh…"

"You haven't?"

"Well, I usually don't go anywhere special. Even if I do, you probably wouldn't like it."

"Where do you like to go for fun then?"

I spoke slowly, "Um... Mostly places like theatres or music stores…"

I wasn't even through the sentence and I already lost her. "I mean those are just some ideas, but… Where do you like to go for fun?"

"Well I like going to the mall," She perked up, "The one I go to is outdoor but it's filled with endless stores."

 _Of course. Girls like malls._

"Oh, there's also this really cool place not too far from here too! It's like a small town filled with these crazy and creative shops, and it's also really pretty. My friends and I used to go there over the summer. I haven't been in a while, but it's still cool and fun!"

I quickly thought through if I had any plans for the weekend. As far as I know, I didn't, and as much as I just wanted to stay inside and play my violin all weekend, I could only conclude that being outside the house was better than being vulnerable to my step dad if I was inside. "Saturday?" I suggested, "We could meet up at noon. Hang on-" I got down on one knee, opening up my messenger bag and pulling out a sticky note and a pen, writing down my number to give to her, "Let me know where you want to meet."

Aiya blushed before taking the sticky note, "I'll call you about it after school! It's gonna be fun!"

* * *

"So the two of you are going on a date?" Kyoya questioned.

"I prefer to call it a 'hangout', actually," From behind the dressing curtain, I shrugged on a hooded robe that was for today's cosplay, which was medieval themed. I was supposed to be what they called, a "devilishly handsome wizard". _Pretty sure wizards aren't historically accurate, but it's better than a jester in tights._ "She's really looking forward to it."

"What about you?"

"I'm… Not sure. I guess nervous?" I straightened out the robe, flattening out any creases before picking up the boots that were next to my dress shoes and shrugging them on, "I've never really had friends to hang out with."

"You hang around with us."

"Girls, I mean. Aside from that one time at the beach, it's just gonna be the two of us and..." _It really does sound like a date now..._ "I don't know. I feel like I should be prepared to expect something different out of this one."

"It's really no different than hanging out with us," Kyoya paused, "Although you make a point. That client of yours has quite a liking to you, so by the end of your 'hangout', she'll most likely try to kiss you."

As I looked in the mirror, I could see myself go pale as Kyoya continued, "I mean that's how most of those things end, but at the same time I could be wrong."

I turned around, shoving the curtain off to the side, speaking a little anxiously, "What if that were to happen though? I mean, I don't want her thinking that this is a date and we're supposed to kiss or do something intimate or something like that, you know?"

As Kyoya shrugged on his shining armor, he spoke, "You can have a few excuses up your sleeve. Fake a cough, pretend to call someone, or just tell her you don't want a kiss. If she's persistent, then I'd say not to be polite anymore."

I pulled the hood over my head, nodding, "Got it."

"Do you have anymore questions?"

As we walked out into the center of the room where the other hosts were, I stammered, really wanting to talk to him more. So like a dork, I turned around so he could look at me before asking, "H-How do I look...?"

He smirked, "The character suits you, Yuri. You're indeed 'devilishly handsome'."

At that moment I was thankful the hood shadowed over my face because I could feel myself heating up from that compliment. I didn't know if he was joking or not, but to hear him tell me that, I was still bashful. He walked past me, but not too far enough for him to hear me say, "A-And you-you're not looking too bad yourself-" My voice cracked, but it seemed that no one cared as their attention was directed to the doors opening in front of them. But instead of the girls in yellow dresses, these two were in completely different uniforms. That's when Tamaki pointed out that they were from a different school before moving on with his flirtatious antics. The girls, however, were not impressed. The taller one on the left scoffed, "If you think that's what a woman wants to hear, then you're wrong."

Despite being in the strongest and shiniest armor here, it was obvious that Tamaki was starting to break a bit.

"Come on, give him a break, Sister Suzuran," The shorter one began, that same unimpressed tone in her voice, "Men are just lowly life forms who don't care about anything other than perpetuating their testosterone latent image. By protecting us he's actually attempting to disguise the fact that he is weak and unable of even protecting himself."

 _Wow, these girls are completely different than our usual clients._ I coughed uncomfortably, murmuring, "They're rather harsh, aren't they?"

They seemed to have ignored me, listening to Tamaki ask, "Fine then. What do women like you want to hear?"

Before they answered for themselves, another woman just like them came into the room, answering, "Maybe, something like 'I would never leave my lover alone.'" The next woman entering the room was among the tallest, which meant she was obviously the higher authority here, and in her arms she held Haruhi, who was holding a bag of instant coffee. Dumbstruck, we all stared at her dancing around with the female host all while speaking as if she were a Shakespearean actress, "If we fight, it'll be together. If we fail, we fail together. Even if I were to die, I promise you that I will never leave your side, my love." At the end, she planted a kiss on Haruhi's knuckles, and I could hear every gasp from the hosts leave their mouth, Tamaki especially since he could barely make out a word of what he was trying to say. The only thing making me uncomfortable with this was how the girls were sort of smothering Haruhi and obsessing over her physique. Tamaki, of course, flipped out before lunging towards the girl. But what he got was a slug to the face, which molded him into a vulnerable state of shock as he cried.

As the hosts tended to his comfort, I stood off to the side, not really knowing what I could do other than stand and watch. The tallest, which I caught her name was Benibara, scoffed, "Guess the rumors we heard are true. You guys are just a bunch of weak little punks with no sense between you."

I clenched my teeth, "And you guys are no different from the stereotypical perverts on the street. You say men are bad, what gives you a reason to smother Haruhi non-consensually like that? You think that's what she wanted the first thing she walked in here today?"

"You she wanted to be dragged into your club when she first walked into this room in the first place?"

I opened my mouth to say more, but found that I lacked words and power in this situation. I backed away, swallowing hard as Kyoya was quick to change the subject, "Those uniforms. I assume you ladies are from Lobelia girls' academy."

"Lo- what?" I raised an eyebrow.

Before I knew it, as if they had it all rehearsed, they all began introducing themselves in a theatric way, starting from Benibara, whose real name was actually Benio Amakusa (For the hell of it, I'll just keep calling her Benibara). Then it went to the middle-heighted girl, Chizuru Maihara, and the last one was Hinako Tsuwabuki. And together, they were their own club labeled as, "The Zuka Club". They finished, expecting a reaction, but we were all blank. Tamaki was as pale as a ghost, and the twins were losing it in a fit of laughter and tears, as if what they saw was the most ridiculous thing they've every seen. _I've seen weirder._

"You shouldn't underestimate the Zuka Club!" Out of nowhere, Renge interrupted, holding a cup of instant coffee.

"Where'd she come from?" I jumped at her appearance.

From there, after taking one sip of her coffee, she began to explain the power of the all girl's school, St. Lobelia's academy. Their Zuka club is apparently a group of strong maidens who consider themselves to be dominant than everyone else. Similar to the host club, they hold tea parties, events, and everyone obsesses over them. They're even part of drama which explains why they were here in the first place. Renge sure was right as they began to explain the beliefs of a "maiden", saying how they don't give into power, how they're sick of our "male oppressive contempt for womankind", and their pride comes from meaningful relationships based on equality. In other words, they're lesbians. Makes me feel a little better actually since it comes to show that I'm not the only one going gay for a "special someone". But once again, I remind myself, _Going homosexual for a single person of the same sex doesn't make me completely gay. It just makes me..._ I lost my train of thought, and before the inner conflict could turn into an inside battle. _Forget it. Kyoya and I are just friends like anyone else._

Though it seemed as if a battle between the Host Club and Zuka Club had only just begun as Benibara said, "The host club's president may be a pretty little halfer. But he shouldn't be using his looks to create a fictitious romance. Attempting to fool the heart of a pure young maiden is demeaning. Your so-called club activities are nothing more than debasing macho fantasies. I promise you. We will bring you guys down. The Ouran host club will be abolished."

 _Okay, this is kind of getting a little freaky now._

Figuring how I really didn't have an active role in this entire thing whatsoever, I made my way towards the exit before I could see any chaos and destruction emerge. "And where do you think you're going?" Benibara questioned.

I turned around, facing her, "Isn't it obvious? I'm leaving."

"For what? Can't handle the pressure to face us?"

"Not that at all. As cool as your school and club sounds, I think you're pushing it a little too far with this whole 'abolishment of the Host Club'. It's kind of immature and I don't see why it's necessary to turn it into World War III."

"Immature, you say? Well if you're leaving, why're you still wearing that ridiculous costume?"

I froze, realizing that I still had my wizard's robe on. "That's something only a child would do, wouldn't you agree? It might appear that you're almost as childish as your president here."

I could feel my face turn red in embarrassment, and even the hood couldn't hide it. _If I had the magic of a wizard, I'd turn myself invisible..._ I swallowed hard, "Yeah, I know..." I walked off slowly, keeping my head low as her words began to sink deep into my skin. I've been called worse, but now I'm at the point where every insult that I'm called, I take it as a fact. When my step dad calls me worthless, it's true. When he tells me a deserve his punishments, yeah I guess I do. When he calls me a "son of a whore"...

...

No. My mom wasn't... She only did it to help us. She was a good person that only wanted the best for me and herself. I shrugged off my robe and boots, changing back into my school attire. Leaving the costume on the floor, I swung open the curtain only to look back at my reflection in the mirror, Benibara's words repeating in my head. _Yes... Childish. I guess I'm just as childish as Tamaki..._

* * *

 **It was sort of hard to write this chapter, but I feel pretty good about writing up the next one.**


	19. Chapter Nineteen

The next day was the same as before. I tried working on my composition, Aiya wanted to chat with me, and this time I gave her my address so she could come over to pick me up from my house. She was even more thrilled than yesterday, though as she walked away with that sticky note, I instantly regretted it. _That just means she might come over to my house on a regular basis._ Nonetheless, the thought of that brushed off my shoulder as I went to the music room for the service today, only to find that everyone in that room was getting dressed in big, frilly dresses and others were working on applying lipstick, blush, and all that other crap to each other's faces. "Guys..." I almost lost my balance, "What is... What's going on...?"

"We, my dear 'sister'," Tamaki answered, speaking in a more feminine tone, "We're doing this to show Haruhi that we're not only her brothers, but her sisters as well!"

"Wait, did you just call me 'sister'?"

"Look at us Yuri-chan!" Honey-senpai was amused by all this, "We're princesses! Isn't it great?!"

I looked around. The only one who wasn't wearing a dress was Mori, and I could only assume that he would be Haruhi's only "brother".

"And we've got one for you too!" The twins held up a black, Victorian-like dress, and I widened at the sight of it before shaking my head in mortification.

"Guys, I don't think I can do this..."

"We all have to do this, Yuri. That is unless you want Haruhi to transfer over to St. Lobelia's."

"So this is what it's all about? Well I'm pretty sure there's another way other than dressing in drag."

"True, true," Tamaki's feminine appearance was starting to freak me out a bit, "But where's the fun if that way isn't creative as this?"

"Right, right... Because it wouldn't be like you to not come up with something as ridiculous as this."

"Enough chit chat, Yuri. It's time to make you look beautiful!"

I gulped as I saw the twins standing right behind Tamaki, eying me evilly while holding a box full of makeup. I gulped, "Please don't make me look like a clown..." Hikaru pulled up a chair, forcing me to sit down.

"Relax, we know what we're doing," Kaoru said, "Just try not to move so we don't mess anything up."

I closed my eyes, feeling them poking and stretching out my eyelids as they applied eyeshadow and eyeliner. Before that, they almost got into a small argument about what color it should be, and they went with a dark red for the eye shadow and black eyeliner. I opened my eyes when they were done, and I finally called a time out when I saw them deciding over the shades of lipstick, "Okay, no! Don't you dare!"

"Oh come on, just a little bit?"

"We'll do a lighter shade so you'll barely know it's on."

"What about just a simple red?"

"You're just gonna make my lips look just as big as yours."

"Okay okay. Then you might as well put on your dress then if you won't let us add any blush."

I quickly got up, the black dress in hanging off of one arm in addition to carrying a pair of maroon high-heeled boots. I walked into the dressing room, trying desperately not to look at myself in the mirror. After disrobing my school uniform, I struggled to put on the big-skirted costume. _Do I step into it or do I just shrug it on?_ After a long wait, I slipped it on over my head, praying that my make up wouldn't smear all over it. Slipping my arms through the short sleeves, I finally saw my reflection in the mirror, almost wanting to look away when I saw that I looked like a heartbroken vampire bride. "Oh good lord..." I stumbled back a bit, as if I was looking at a complete stranger in the mirror.

"Yuri?" Tamaki was outside the curtain, and I could only assume the same for everyone else, "Are you finished changing? You didn't get stuck in the dress did you?"

"No, I'll be out in a minute."

I couldn't stop looking at myself though. It was slightly terrifying to see my gender swapped reflection, and that's when I finally decided to look away to slip on my boots. _How'd they even get my sizes?_ I drew the curtain open, allowing the hosts to look at my final appearance. Their eyes were filled with awe, and Honey-senpai was the first to note how I looked "cute".

"No kidding," Kaoru said, "He looks better than the rest of us."

"More like an actual girl," Hikaru corrected, "I'm pretty sure Nekozawa would fall for him like this."

"Twirl for us!"

"I'm _not_ twirling," I finally said, "And let's be honest I just look like a hot mess."

"So do we, if that makes you feel any better," Kyoya replied, "But if this all works out, it means that Haruhi will stay at Ouran and can pay off her debt... And depending on how well Haruhi might take to this, it also might mean we might need more femininity in our cosplays if Haruhi's buying into this sort of connection."

"Oh boy..."

"Well, let's not wait any longer, gentle-ladies," Tamaki flipped his long-attached hair over his shoulder, leaving the room with his head up high.

They walked out so easily in their shoes, and meanwhile I couldn't make the first step without stumbling. _How can anyone walk in these?_ I regained my balance, pretty positive that I was going to leave here today with a twisted ankle. _Baby steps, Yuri._ I lifted my skirt a bit just so I could see the tops of my feet, proceeding one step at a time. When I got confident with my foot coordination, I looked ahead, leaving the dressing room and meeting up with the hosts in the center of the music room. The lights dimmed, and we positioned ourselves as if we were trying to make one big ball of warmth. I was crouched next to Kyoya. Perhaps a bit too close because I could practically smell his perfume. _He smells pretty good._ Once I caught that thought, I slapped myself mentally. _Pull it together. I'm not here to sniff my friend's scent, we're doing this to keep Haruhi at the school._ Then from outside, we heard the faint voices of the Lobelia girls. "Everyone get ready!" Tamaki whispered.

A few seconds later, the doors swung open, letting in the light. We stayed like this for a few seconds more until one of the twins stood and let out a high pitched, "Ouran!"

Mori did the same, at a much lower pitched, followed by Kyoya. Soon after Honey-senpai sang his tune, it was silent. I said nothing, everyone was still frozen in place, and I could hear Kaoru whisper sharply to me, "Yuri, that's you!"

"Oh, um..." I stood up, letting out an unprepared, "O-Ouran!"

Last but not least, Tamaki let out his strong, opera-like "Ouran!"

The lights flashed on, revealing us all, finishing by saying (Except for me), "Host club welcomes you!"

The girls at the door were still frozen in a state of shock, Benibara snapping, "What is the meaning of this?! Are you trying to make fun of woman kind?!"

What Tamaki soon began to explain was how by dressing like this, we could even make a crying child smile, and saying that Haruhi should stay with us for not only gaining brothers and sisters, but she would get to experience feminine bonding in a club full of boys. Haruhi stood there, silent and eying every single on of us. Benibara, of course, was still not moved by this, "Do you idiots really think you can win her over like this? I've had enough of your fooling around!"

Just when I thought she was about to go ballistic on us, Haruhi broke into a fit of laughter. _Oh great. She's laughing. Either she also thinks this is silly, or maybe this plan actually worked._

Haruhi was to the point of tears, laughing too hard that she had to sit down, "Oh my god...! What were you thinking? What's gotten into you guys?"

"We did this because we didn't want you to leave the host club, Haruhi," Hikaru admitted, this time speaking in his regular tone of voice.

She stopped laughing, surprised at first, but smiled generously afterwards.

"Well, maiden, have you made a choice?" Benibara questioned with impatience.

Haruhi stood up, "Yeah, I have. I'm sorry but your club's not for me. I think the idea of a girls' school is great, and your views are very unique and interesting. But I came to this school with a goal and a plan for my future. So while I appreciate your offer, I really already knew that I was never going to leave Ouran academy."

 _Mission accomplished. Guess that means I don't have to wear this thing anymore._ I looked down absent-mindedly at my dress, and for a hell of it, I twirled a little bit. I chuckled, doing it a second time until I heard a small laugh coming from Kyoya, "You're twirling, Yuri."

I froze, "What? No I'm not."

He raised an eyebrow, and I sighed, "Okay, I was."

"I'll admit, it looks good on you."

"You seem to look better in yours though," I looked away, smiling and trying my best not to blush, "You're the only one here that doesn't look overdressed."

"Yeah? Well, I'll have you know that you don't look like a hot mess either."

"Hm. How do I look to you then?"

 _Oh my god did he just call me pretty?!_ I hid how flustered I actually was with soft and controlled laughter, and I couldn't really say anything without sounding like a complete idiot. What could I say without making him know that I like him? Nothing. _He's only playing around. There's no reason to get excited._ I cleared my throat, just in time as the leader of the Zuka club finally spoke as soon as Tamaki and Haruhi were done arguing about her lost mechanical pencil that the club apparently sold without her knowing, "We're not going to give up on you, maiden. I swear this to you. Some day, we'll come and rescue you from this place, and when we do, we'll abolish the Ouran host club!" She and the other girls left with a soft "adieu", dancing out of the room and leaving this school.

For now at least. But in the time being, this meant I could take off the tight dress and wash off my make up.

* * *

It felt nice to walk home in my dress shoes and uniform. Who knows how far I would've made it if I were in those silly shoes? There's no doubt I would've made it up two steps. As approached the steps, I sighed softly, glad that it was Friday. There were no plans for tonight, tomorrow I hang out with Aiya, and Sunday is a free day. I walked into the dim-lit mansion, breathing in a fresh scent and stepping onto a dirt-free carpet. _Guess it was cleaning day for the servants._ Closing the door, I only made it halfway through the living room I heard the gruff voice of my step-dad, "Yuri!"

I stopped, feeling my stomach drop as I scanned around the room. He was leaned up against the wall, a small sheet of paper dangling from his fingers. He was waiting for me, and I swallowed, "Yes, sir?"

He pushed himself off the wall, approaching me and holding out the paper revealing words of anger and hate. _Wait a minute. This is my note._ "Maids were cleaning out your room today and found this laying in plain sight," He said, his eyes narrowed, "Was this for me?"

"No... No it wasn't for anyone. I..."

"You little liar," He threw the page off to the side, his voice turning into a hiss as he talked, "You don't call nobody a monster or a psychopath and wish that they died. Otherwise you'd be crazy. You know who you were talking about."

"Dad, I-" I should've seen the slap coming.

"Don't make any excuses, you little punk! I let you live in this home! I keep you fed and let you keep that instrument, and you wish I was dead?!"

I didn't answer at first. I kept my gaze turned away from him and held the place where he hit me. I could feel blood coming from my nose and tears coming from only one side of my eye. Suddenly, I felt his fingers dig into the skin of my neck, forcing me to look at him, "Answer me, brat! Is this the 'thanks' I deserve?!"

I shook my head, only because I wanted him to stop, "No- No, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry?" He tightened his grip, and before he could say any more, he paused, using his other hand to bring his fingers to my eyelashes. Picking at one of them, he rubbed his fingers only to reveal a black powder coming off. "What's this?"

 _There's no getting out of this now._ "Yuri, what is this?!"

"It's eyeliner..."

"Eyeliner?"

He gave me one look of disappointment before sneering, "I can't believe you right now."

He shoved me back before bringing his fist to the side of my face. This blow was harder than the slap; Hard enough to make me fall to the floor, completely at his mercy. "So am I raising a fag now?! What the hell are you doing wearing make up?!"

I touched my face, now in tears. But it didn't end there. He kicked me in the stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. "Well?!"

I tried to speak, but I couldn't, and when I couldn't give him a response, he kicked me harder. All I could do was lay at my side and stare at him, and what I couldn't understand was how he couldn't see how sadistic and monstrous he was. I coughed painfully, and he came down to his knees, grabbing my hair and lifting me to meet his gaze, "I can't believe I'm still keeping a brat like you under my roof. I could throw you out on the streets and you'll be alone! Is that what you want?!"

"No...!" I cried painfully, "N-No. I'm sorry... I'm sorry, okay...?"

He sneered at me before letting go, standing up, "The next time you be ungrateful to me, I'll give you a reason why you shouldn't be."

I watched him walk away, and I just laid on the floor, too hurt to move a muscle. So all I could do was let my tears and blood drip on the carpet, and when I finally found the strength the move, I could only make it to the couch, where I laid and slept for countless hours, dreaming of an escape.


	20. Chapter Twenty

The bruise on my stomach could easily be hidden. The one on my temple, however, was a little more difficult. No matter how I parted my hair to cover it up, it was still visible to the naked eye. Sure, I could just say I got into a fight with some guy or got into some mischief, but I feel like I've been saying that too much, which would probably make anyone question what kind of person would get into weekly fights and come back looking like they lost every time. But with Aiya, I'm pretty sure she really couldn't care less. Seeing how there was really no way of hiding the bruise on my face, I gave up, instead turning my attention to my outfit I'd be wearing for today and flattening out any wrinkles or making any further adjustments. Aside from the ugly mark on face, I looked presentable. I left the bathroom, heading downstairs and checking my phone to see that Aiya had texted me not too long ago. _Be there in about ten minutes or less! See you soon :)_

I sat on the couch, waiting for the minutes to pass by, and during those endless seconds, Ms. Yori walked down stairs with her purse hanging off of her arm. Walking down next to her was Daichi, who immediately laid eyes on me and leapt off the last two steps of stairs. He quickly ran over to me.

"Hey, Daichi," I stood up, "What's wrong-"

He wrapped his arms around my waist, staying silent. I held him close, looking at Ms. Yori for some explanation. "We were talking for a bit," She began, "He said he saw what… Your father was doing to you yesterday."

I sighed inaudibly, my baby brother saying, "He told me not to come see you… He said that you did something bad, and he was only teaching you a lesson…"

I swallowed hard, "I did… I did something he thought was wrong, and… Maybe I did deserve it."

"But he doesn't hurt me when I'm in trouble. It's not fair."

"I know, I know… I wish I could do something about it, but I can't."

"Why not?" Daichi looked up, and he let go as I crouched down, "Because he's in charge, and everything he says goes. If he thinks I did something bad, then I did. If he says you're an amazing son, then he's telling the truth." I forced myself to smile a bit, as if to give him a little reassurance.

It was obvious he wasn't buying any of that. It was written all over his face, and not knowing anything I could say that could make him feel better, I changed the subject, "So, are you guys going somewhere?"

"Just to shop for clothes," He shrugged.

"And maybe if we're not too exhausted, I'll take him to the park," Ms. Yori said, "And you? Assuming you are since you have your shoes on."

"Hanging out with a friend today," I nodded, "Probably won't be back until tonight."

"I see, and you're going out looking like that?"

Confused, I looked down. Yeah, I probably was going to be a little hot in the sun with all this black on, but I didn't think it looked too bad overall.

"Not talking about your clothes," She corrected, "But… Your head. That bruise will bring some concern to others, don't you think?"

"Oh, that? No, not really."

"What are you going to say if someone notices then?"

"Something like…" I mumbled, my eyes wandering as I pondered for an excuse, "I fell?"

She stared for a moment, before saying, "Could you sit down for a moment?"

I found my seat back on the couch, Daichi sitting next to me. Ms. Yori got in front of me, getting on her knees and digging through her purse.

"What're you doing?" I asked, remembering not to sound rude.

She took out a small small bottle filled with a very light brown substance, "It's probably not close to your skin tone, but it might be enough to hide that bruise."

"What is that?"

"It's just a little bit of foundation. It's one of many things we women carry in our purses."

Curious to see what she was about to do, I stayed quiet and let her work her magic. She dipped her finger into the bottle before taking it and pressing it against the part of my face that stood out, holding some strands of hair that were in the way with her other hand. I flinched, partly from how cold her hands were. She told me politely to be still before gently dabbing her finger around the area of the bruising. She repeated this once more, probably a few more times before she placed the foundation back in her purse and taking out a small mirror.

"There, no one can hardly notice now," Ms. Yori smiled.

I blinked in surprise at how the bruise on my temple was practically gone now, "Oh, wow..."

"Just make sure to wash it off tonight. It'll clog your pores if you don't."

"Th-Thank you I don't know how I can-"

"A simple 'thanks' is enough."

Daichi was also impressed, "You're really good at that!"

She stood up, smiling from ear to ear as if it's been years since she's been complimented.

"Y-You really are," I added on just as I received a text from Aiya. _I'm here! This is the right place right?_ Under that text, she sent a picture of the frontal view of the mansion.

"Well, I should probably get going," I stood up, "Thanks again, Ms. Yori."

"Sure thing," She nodded.

Midway through my steps, I turned around, "Um, one more thing."

Ms. Yori waited for my response, "Uh… I'd like it if you'd lend me one of those foundation things."

"Okay."

"And… Please don't tell anyone else what's been happening."

Her smile faded, and her nod was reluctant this time, "He told me the exact same thing long before you did."

Her look expressed it all. She knew that this wasn't okay, but we both knew if the truth got out, there's no doubt that there would be hell to pay.

* * *

As soon as the car slowed down, I knew that we were at this place Aiya was so excited about. She tapped her driver on the shoulder, "Tell daddy we'll be out for a few."

The driver nodded, getting out of the car to open the door for the both of us. I eyed the small village made of bricks and wood, and I could only guess that this place has been here for quite a long time. But it was still pretty despite the faded paint and the cracked sidewalks, and it was all brought out by the bright green leaves from the trees and the newly grown flowers sticking out of the flower pots. The streets were filled with dozens of people, few were street performers. But what I liked even more about it was that it was surrounded by nothing but forest, so it gave off a natural scent all around. "Wow, I'm getting a big wave of nostalgia," Aiya sighed with a smile, "Isn't this neat?"

"Yeah," I nodded, smiling as well. _Reminds me of where dad used to live._

"Follow me. Let's go get something to eat real quick."

She took my arm, dragging me across the broken sidewalk and through the streets of people. We passed by a small corner store, a gallery, and, what got me a little more excited, a music store full of different, stringed instruments. _Hopefully we'll come back there._ Finally, Aiya and I entered a small building filled with a sweet aroma coming from freshly baked pastries, fruits, and candies. Aiya was already ordering a small bag full of chocolate-covered strawberries and a cinnamon bun, and the lady at the counter turned to me, asking, "What about for you, handsome?"

Slightly taken back by the name, I stammered, "Uh, er- Nothing."

I could feel Aiya hold my arm a little closer than before, as if she were being possessive. _This is gonna be a long day._

"You sure?"

"You can share my strawberries. I don't mind," Aiya said, reaching for her back pocket and going completely red in humiliation.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um, I forgot my wallet…"

"Oh, it's okay. I've got mine-"

The woman held out a small paper bag, "Don't worry, you two." She paused, smiling sweetly at me, "I'll leave it on the house."

Chuckling nervously, I let Aiya take the bag as she returned to her normal color as we walked out. She took out the small pastry product and taking an enormous bite out of it. "This place is sort of different," She commented, and I almost couldn't understand because her mouth was full.

"How so?"

"Well, I guess it's a little more crowded than before. I think there are some shops that weren't here before, so that's worth checking out."

I nodded, looking around a bit as well, and it only seemed to be less than a minute when Aiya was finished with her cinnamon bun, "Come on. We'll go to all the good places first."

She dragged me across the street once more, and the first store we went into was brightly lit and full of plushies, posters, clothes, and other miscellaneous items. Though looked as if the owner of the store gathered his old junk one day and decided to sell it, but it looked like a lot of people liked it. Aiya was deeply interested in the clothes, and ended up pleading me to get her a cheap, floral scarf that seemed unnecessary especially for this kind of humid weather. One look around, and I really couldn't see anything that I couldn't live without, so we left there.

Next one was a gallery full of various painted pictures of people, nature, and animals, and in the corner of the room was an old man who was behind the art. He offered to paint one of us, and Aiya seemed to be insistent that I would be his muse. After the same pleading from her, and after he offered to lower the cost because he's "never painted a handsome face like mine", of course I accepted. For about half an hour, I remained seated in front of the artist, trying my best not to fall asleep or do anything that might throw him off from his painting. Aiya kept her eyes on the canvas the entire time, asking me if it'd be alright if she kept it. Not that I really like looking at myself anyway, I knew that my painted self wouldn't be any better. As soon as the man put down his paintbrush and paint, he turned the picture around and it actually didn't look that bad. The two things that stood out were my eyes, which he made look as sad as possible, and the yellow roses that surrounded the canvas, as if to bring out the dark colors I already had on.

From other bakeries and candy shops, to the arcades and outdoor markets, I thought this was never going to end. As much as I liked this little outing, it's draining when you're literally being dragged by the arm for the duration of day. Aiya, on the other hand, was still a flaming ball of energy, and I didn't know what was going to slow her down. As she stopped again, I was practically hanging off of her shoulder. "Let's see," She began, "We've seen the clothing departments, the toy stores, the small food shops. Are we missing anything?"

On the verge of almost collapsing, I popped up once again as I spotted the music store from the corner of my eye, "There's one over there."

"The music store?"

"Yeah." I noted Aiya's silence, as if she were uninterested, and reluctantly I said, "I mean it's just a thought, but it's up to you-"

Also reluctant, she said, "No. It's fine. It wouldn't hurt."

I smiled, no longer having to be dragged into the store this time, and as we went in, we were met with a warm, humid atmosphere, I guess to keep the instruments in a good condition. Hanging on one side of the wall were guitars, on another side were cellos and bases, in one corner were a collection of books to play from, and finally came the one thing I was looking for: The violas and the violins. Aiya followed me into that corner, and from the back of my head, I knew her eyes were glowing in interest.

Interested in me at least.

I looked over the violins hanging on the wall, all looking different from my ordinary, ebony-colored instrument. A few rows later, and I finally laid eyes on the one that stood out from the rest. This violin was full-sized, coated in a dark, mahogany red. I liked how it shined, and as I took it off the rack it hanged from, Aiya nudged closer to me, "I really like that one. It's got a pretty color to it."

"Yeah, it does," I agreed.

Then from behind us, the voice of a middle aged man, "You can give it a try if you want, son."

I turned around, "What-? Oh no, I was just looking-"

"Play it, Yuri! Please? You can play the song you're working on!"

"I don't know-"

The man approached with a bow, some hairs falling out of it as it appeared to be used for a while, "It won't bother me if you want to play for a bit. You know how to tune it, do you?"

I looked at the bow and violin, then back at the man, "Are you sure?"

"Won't bother me one bit. We've got rooms in the back if you don't feel comfortable playing here. It's where we usually hold our lessons for young musicians like yourself."

"Musician-? But I'm not-"

"Just play already! I've never heard you play before!" Aiya shook me, keeping an irritating smile on her face as if to hide her impatience.

I swallowed nervously, feeling my palms get sweaty as I turned the knobs and tuners on the violin. The man walked away to give me some space, finding his place back at the counter. By the time I got the violin tuned, I placed the hairy bow on the strings, shaking anxiously as I did so. I could almost feel every single eye in the store glued onto me. But not wanting to disappoint Aiya, I played my first whole note of my unnamed song. _First high D. Then high A. D again. Same thing, only for one count. E, F, D._ I repeated the first three whole notes before playing a high E for two beats, moving up a note and back down again. I changed the pitch to a high C, which made Aiya flinch a bit. But I continued to play. _Whole A, back down to F, G, and F again. Whole E, whole F..._ I ended the last whole note on a D, lowering the violin and continued to quiver a bit.

"Th-That's all I've got so far," I said, loosening the strings as Aiya looked at me, her eyes sparkling.

"Wow," She said in almost a whisper, "Have you played this for anyone else?"

"Just you..."

How I said that came off as unexpectedly low and somewhat seductive, which was completely opposite of what I intended. From across the room, the man at the counter clapped, "That's a beautiful start so far. Your own song?"

"Yeah," I nodded, blushing a bit, "It's not finished though."

"Well, I'd say keep it up, son. You wanna take that home with you?"

I gazed back down at the violin. As beautiful as it was, I knew my step dad would kill me if he saw I was keeping two violins in the house. "Maybe another time," I finally said.

* * *

 **Not my favorite chapter so far, and sorry if it seemed a little sloppy. Hopefully the rest is going to be better though. I meant to add an extra part to this, but I think I'll save that for the next chapter.**


	21. Chapter Twenty One

As we made our way back from where we started, Aiya came to a stop, holding me close to her which made me stop as well. Her eyes weren't on me, they were on a large, dark shack isolated from all the buildings. It was out in the middle of a field surrounded by crows, and on the side of it was a small pond that I could imagine was contaminated with dead fish. "I always forgot that place was sitting there," I could feel her shiver.

"What is it?" I shivered, mostly at the fact that I never noticed it at first.

"Well, my friends and I used to make rumors about how someone died there and their spirit still haunts the place. Or how there's an old man who's lived there even before this town was founded."

"Those were just rumors, right?"

"Yeah... Last time I was here, my friends and I dared another girl to go into that shack, and an hour later she came out smelling like herbs and sweets. She didn't look hurt or terrified. The truth we learned is that there are actually two women who lived there, and they run a small business of divination. I guess it's pretty cool, but it wasn't as imaginative as our ideas."

"Divination?"

"Mm-hmm. You know, like palm reading? Tarot cards? Ever done it before?"

I shook my head, and Aiya blinked, "Really? Well, we can do it before we go. We still have an hour before everything closes."

The soles of my feet were aching at this point and it felt as if the bones in my legs went stiff. Rather than saying no, all that came out was, "I don't really know..."

"Oh come on. It might be fun, don't you think? Besides, I haven't done it."

Seeing how there wasn't an option to say no now, I followed her down the field of newly grown grass, scaring off the crows as we now stepped onto a part of the field that was now dead grass. I could feel my stomach sink at the closer sight of the old, rusty shack. Hanging above the door was a sign that was close the falling off its nails, barely readable. _Miki and Miku: Sisters of Divination_. Aiya didn't have to turn the knob to open the door as it swung open slowly with a loud creak, and now I could feel her anxiety radiate. "Um, okay... Let's hope they're still alive."

Fortunately, as we entered the shack, it smelled nothing like rotting corpses, but of scented candles and herbs. It was dimly lit by colored lights hanging from the ceiling, and the shelves on one side of the wall contained books, games, and decorations. Then, standing over at a small counter not too far from here was an old woman with a crow nesting upon her shoulder, slightly trembling as she struggled to read the words from her small book. The door slammed behind us, which caught her attention. She gasped, "Customers...! Miki! Get the tea and cake!"

I guess she's Miku then. For an old woman, she sure had quite a bit of stamina left as she rushed over to Aiya and I, "Welcome to our shop, children. Come sit. Make yourselves comfortable. My sister will be out with the goods shortly."

Seating us at a table with creaky chairs, it was slightly relieving to sit down not only because my legs could get a break, but I knew that thankfully we'd be leaving this shack alive. "So what brings you here this late afternoon?" Miku lit a small candle in the middle of the table, "Come to talk about our magic, maybe simply to have a nice cup of tea or enjoy a cake or pie...?"

"Fortunes," Aiya said, keeping her eyes on the crow that sat on the old woman's head, "We're just here for a reading."

"Oh, well then. It's been a while since someone's asked us for that. Miki, how long has it been? One year? Three years?"

Another old woman, sharing the same physical traits as her sister, came in, holding a tray that held a tea pot, small cups, and a small cake that looked as if it was sitting in the pantry for decades. "I feel like it's been... Ten years," Miki answered, "Could've been more."

"Perhaps," Her sister answered, "It seems as if people are just here to see if we're still alive or not."

After mumbles of agreement, Miki set down the tray. "Nonetheless, it's good to have some people like you," Miku said. I looked at the cake, or mostly what was next to it. Aiya and I exchanged looks, knowing we were both skipping desert as we both saw a cockroach crawl of the plate.

I cleared my throat, "So, how does this work?"

Miku and Miki looked each other, and looked back at us. Miku began pouring the pot of tea into each cup, "We're going to read your tea leaves. Just drink up, and we'll handle the rest." Aiya, eager to know, sipped her tea so quickly that she was finished in a matter of seconds. When I took a drink of the tea, I almost spit it out. It wasn't bad, but it was _scalding_ hot. I put the cup down as Aiya spoke, lisping is it appeared the heat of the beverage melted her tongue, "Okay. What happenth now?"

While waiting for the tea to cool down, I observed how the whole tea-leaf reading works. Aiya handed Miki the cup, and together, the sisters gazed down, looking as if they were staring straight into the void. "Is that a thimble or a bucket…?" Miku murmured, pointing towards the edge of the cup. Hearing this, Aiya stood up, tying to look into the cup to see what on earth they were talking about.

"There's a heart right there," Miki replied.

"Okay, wait a minute," Aiya began, "A bucket and a heart? What'th that thuppothed to mean? Am I gonna fall in love with a bucket?"

As Miki explained to her the meaning behind that unusual reading, I sipped my tea once again. It was a little bit cooler. Still hot, but bearable. Taking a big gulp, Miki explained how Aiya will find happiness in her life, but most likely, she wouldn't have a true love. At this, Aiya was outraged, her voice loud enough to blow out our eardrums. I finished my tea, which seemed to be a relief for Miku as she turned her attention to me, "Finished, my dear?"

I handed her the tea cup as Miki calmly tried to explain how Aiya can still be happy even if she doesn't have a spouse in her life. Once again, Miku squinted her eyes, gazing into it and observing the patterns of the tea leaves. She rotated the cup, squinting and trying to make out what was in it. I stayed silent, though I could feel curiosity raging deep down inside that I was almost tempted to say something.

"Strange…" She said.

"What?" I finally asked.

"Sister, would you look here for a minute?"

Miki paused, scooting close to Miku, who questioned, "What does this look like to you?"

The shorter sister tilted her head, pursing her lips, "It looks like… An angel."

"That's what I was thinking, but if you tilt it this way, it looks more like a bat, don't you think?"

I blinked, hoping that my tea leaves would be an angel since a rat with wings didn't sound any better.

"A bit odd, indeed."

Miku finally looked at me, "Well, my dear, this could mean one of two things."

Interested and anxious to hear, I leaned in a bit, "Which is?"

"Well, it could mean that you're heading in a direction of happiness, love, and peace."

Aiya scoffed, looking away, "Lucky…"

"What's the bad news then?"

Worryingly, Miki said, "Well, if it's the other meaning, it's a bad omen."

 _Obviously._

"In other words, this could mean that there's going to ill events ahead that might lead to… That might lead to something terrible happening to you."

I stared at them, laughing nervously, "Terrible? Like what? Am I gonna die? What's gonna happen? When's it gonna happen?"

"We can't predict time, deary."

I looked at Aiya, who had a somewhat worried look in her eyes. I swallowed thickly, "What should I do then…?"

Miki spoke first, "Just tread carefully, but don't spend all your time thinking about what will happen next."

"Focus on the positive energy in your life," Miku continued, "Keep your friends close, know who they are, and maybe then, that's where you'll find the love and peace."

I nodded slowly, and minutes later, we left the shack, feeling completely thrown off. I guess Aiya noticed because she began, almost forcing herself to say it, "Y-You know what? They're wrong." I looked at her, silent.

"They're wrong," She said, shrugging, "They're probably too old, and their minds are just jumbled up."

"Maybe…"

"What they said isn't true, okay? Nothing bad is gonna happen. You're not gonna die. None of that just won't happen."

I knew why she was saying those things. She was just trying to make us feel better, and it's completely understandable. Both of us heard the things we didn't want to hear, and in return, I said, "Yeah… You're right… Nothing bad is gonna happen to you, and I do think that you'll find a love interest someday."

Aiya smiled, her face glimmering with joy. She intertwined her fingers with mine as we walked back into the town. She didn't say it, but her body language did, _"I already have."_

* * *

 **This was a little more enjoyable to write. I'll try to get the next chapter up and going, and I think I'll try to update on weekends (And if not, I'm probably procrastinating like a boss).**


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

I stirred from my sleep, feeling the sunlight touch my eyes which made me open my eyes from a restful slumber. Rolling on the other side, with my back turned against the window, I kept my eyes open, squinting them in effort to read the time on my clock. 10:33. I sighed, sinking further into my soft mattress. _Nothing better than sleeping in on a Sunday._ Though as I attempted to fall asleep again, I found that I couldn't return back to that paralyzing state of rest. So I sat up, stretching and running a hand through my disheveled hair. Soon after I rubbed the weariness from my eyes, I finally got out of bed, slipping on my bathrobe before leaving my room. I noted how unusually quiet it was. The only faint sound I could hear was the living room clock ticking from downstairs. I walked downstairs, finally realizing why it was so silent. My step dad wasn't here. _First I got to sleep in. Now my step-dad's out of the house. This day just got even better._ I strolled into the dining room, intending to go to the kitchen to find something to eat, but a few steps in, and I saw Ms. Yori, still dressed in her sleeping grown while holding a cup of coffee. She looked at me, smiling, "Good morning."

"Morning, Ms. Yori," I greeted, "Where is everyone?"

"Your father took Daichi out for some breakfast, and he's having the servants run some errands."

"Oh. What're you still doing here then?"

"Told him I wasn't feeling well." She sipped her coffee, "And I'm really not."

I sat across from her, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Her weary eyes gazed down at the table, "I've been thinking about what your brother said yesterday. When he asked why you couldn't do anything about what your father does. It kept me up all night; It had me thinking, what would happen if we were to expose what he does to you and everyone else here?"

I looked at her, leaning in as I became suddenly interested in what she had to say. "What do you think would happen? Would it be for the better, or for the worse?"

I rested my chin on my palm, "It's easy for you to say. You could just leave. You'd leave this all behind and forget that this happened. I'd have to stay here for another couple years until I can finally get out of here."

"Well, I can't forget what he's done, and if I were to end our relationship, that would mean I'd leave you behind. Since I've seen the things he does to you, I don't think I'd want to leave you or your brother to take the abuse."

I shook my head, "Don't worry about me. I'm used to it."

"It isn't normal though. Yuri, you know that no one should have to be experiencing what you're going through."

I stayed silent, at a loss of words. _She's got a point._ I looked down at the table as well, sighing, "Say that you did leave. Without me, without Daichi, without anyone. What would you do?"

As I gazed back up, I could see a smile on her lips, "I'd go back to my own home. It's a couple miles away from here, and… It's brighter than this place. It's not as big or clean, but it's home."

"Clean?" I tilted my head.

"Oh, right. Haha, I have several cats. They shed quite a lot, so everything is covered in cat fur."

"You own cats?" I chuckled as well, "Who's watching them all?"

"Well, I have my maids. Their main job for the time being has been to give them much love as possible." Despite smiling, Ms. Yori's eyes sunk into sadness, "I'd bring them here, but your father would most likely make them all into a fur coat."

"Sounds like him… What's holding you back from going back there then? Aside from me, I mean."

Her smile faded, pursing her lips in thought before answering, "I don't know… When I first met him, he seemed like such a gentleman. But now that I see the real person he is, I feel like I was tricked into being a prisoner of his and there's no way out."

I'm glad she kept going. Everything that came out of her mouth, I could relate to. "Though even if I did tell this to any authority, I feel like they wouldn't believe me. If I was lucky enough, I just know that he has his own tricks up his sleeve. He could pretend to be the victim, he could act nice but go back to being selfish again, you name it."

I nodded, "Yeah… Let's not forget he's filthy rich, so even if he did go to prison, he'd bail himself out and then… We'd really be in for it."

Ms. Yori didn't respond, but deep down, I knew she agreed. "That's why I feel like the best thing to do is stay quiet about it," She stood up, a sign that she wanted to end the conversation. But she smiled, "It was good talking to you. I actually feel a little better now."

"So do I," I returned the smile.

"I think I might take a warm bath and pamper myself for a bit. Did you want anything else?"

Seeing how I lost my hunger, I shook my head, "I might go play the violin for a bit then."

"Have fun then."

"You too, Ms. Yori."

She stopped walking, and when I realized how dumb or wrong I sounded when I said that, I thought she was going to point it out. But instead, she only told me, "Please, call me Takara."

I smiled, following her footsteps soon after. But rather than going into the bathroom, I walked back into my room only to hear my buzzing phone. To my surprise, it was Kyoya. I answered, "Hey, Kyoya."

"Morning, Yuri," He greeted, "You don't have anything planned for today, do you?"

"No. Not that I know of. Why?"

"Tamaki gave me a call. He seems to be somewhat concerned with Haruhi's life outside of school, and suggested that we go investigate."

"Um, does Haruhi know?"

"No, we're sort of just dropping by unexpectedly."

"Kinda rude, don't you think?"

"I guess, but from what I heard, he sounds extremely worried."

I nodded, laughing a bit, "Definitely sounds like Tamaki. I'll be there as soon as possible. Can you leave an address?"

* * *

 _And it appears to be that I'm lost._ I looked around at the neighborhood I was in before looking back at the small sticky note which had Haruhi's address. The GPS on my cellphone was useful up until it died, so now I stood awkwardly still on the sidewalk, looking for any sign that the hosts have passed through here. So far, nothing but children playing in the streets and other people passing by. _Maybe I should just go home and call them later._ Of course that's what I wanted to do, but finally deciding to use common sense, I walked up to a tall woman passing by, grabbing her attention by asking her if she knew the following address.

She smiled, responding in a voice I didn't expect her to have, which made me realize that she wasn't exactly a "woman" (Biologically speaking I mean), "Oh, well why's a handsome young man like yourself dropping by my place?"

Slightly startled, I stammered, "Y-Your place? Wait a minute. You're not by any chance Haruhi's..." I observed her- Or him, not exactly sure how to address the rest of my statement, "Um..." _Well, now I sound rude._

"You know Haruhi?"

"Yeah, I go to school with her, and I'm just-"

"Well, then to answer your question: Yes, I'm indeed Haruhi's father, and you are?"

"Yuri," I let out a slight sigh, mostly out of relief that I didn't seem to be offensive in anyway, "Yuri Ryota."

"Yuri, huh? Walk with me."

I strayed behind as I stayed on his heels, and he commented, "So what's bringing you to our place anyway?"

"Oh uh..." I could feel myself heat up, knowing he'd probably kick my ass if I told him I was meeting up with a few other guys and we were just going to check in on Haruhi. No doubt he'd take that story the wrong way. _But Tamaki's worried about her as well._ "Just worried, that's all."

"Worried? Now why on earth would you be worried about my daughter? Is she telling you things that I'm not aware about?"

"No-No, I just... Like to make sure that she's fitting in alright at the school since she's new and all. I actually new there as well but...- It doesn't bother you does it?"

As we walked up a small flight of stairs, he shrugged, "I suppose not. On the other hand, I appreciate your concern. Is she doing alright?"

"Yeah. It just doesn't hurt to make sure, you know-"

I stopped talking as he froze in at an open door, looking as if he was staring at a murder scene. _God I hope not._ To make sure, I peered in as well, relieved not to see any bodies or blood, but instead the both of us saw Tamaki straddled over Haruhi, who luckily didn't seem threatened. However, Mr. Fujioka thought otherwise as he walked in casually only to throw Tamaki forcefully against the wall, hard enough for me to hear a loud thud. First impression: Behind that beauty is some fierce kick-ass strength. _Kinda scary to be honest._ Making sure his daughter was okay, Tamaki struggled to make a better impression. Once again, Mr. Fujioka wasn't having any of that. This commotion caught the attention of two shadows standing behind me, who I recognized as the twins. "There you are, Yuri," Hikaru began, "Say, what's going on in there?"

"Whoa, check it out," Kaoru commented, "That person from downstairs was Haruhi's dad."

"I guess I didn't see you guys," I replied, "Where were you?"

"Guys! Don't just stand there help me out here!" Tamaki squealed from underneath the crossdresser's heel.

But rather than helping their president out, they chose to make an impression for themselves, claiming that they've never seen a transvestite until now before apologizing for Tamaki's informality. "He's a bit of a ladies' man, if you know what I mean."

"He's a pheromone machine. In fact, I bet he's fooled around with more ladies than you can count."

Having enough of the lack of help Tamaki was receiving, he took matters into his own hands, "I'm not a ladies' man! I'm a nice guy! I care about her!" He got down on his knees, bowing before Mr. Fujioka, "I'm being completely honest here. I care about Haruhi like she's my own daughter."

It got awkwardly silent, and I cleared my throat uncomfortably, trying to hold back a laugh. Mr. Fujioka didn't exactly know how to react, so he just looked down on Tamaki, staring at him as if he was a complete idiot.

* * *

After everything settled down, Haruhi's father finally got to understand what a bunch of boys were doing at his apartment, "I get it. You must be the host club I've heard so much about. You certainly are a fine looking bunch of young men. I don't know which one of you like best. What about you, dear?" He looked over to Haruhi, he didn't give a response. It was hard to tell if she was embarrassed or annoyed. Maybe it was both.

"I'll tell you what," He began, "Why don't you boys go ahead and call me Ranka? That's the professional name I use at the transvestite bar I work at."

He went to say how he knew every single one of us. Naturally, it'd only be explainable that Haruhi would've told him about us. But no. It was apparently the Shadow King who was behind it all along, which went on to upsetting both Haruhi and Tamaki, who was off in the corner, sulking and... Growing mushrooms apparently. After enough invasion of her privacy, Haruhi left, her excuse being that she wanted to go to the supermarket by herself. I leaned back against the wall, hugging me knees in slightly and made myself comfortable, knowing it might be a while until she got back. In the time being, the least I could do was listen to Ranka explain how his daughter was very independent and didn't really rely on anyone else. What he said after that, I really couldn't bring myself to pay attention to. I ended up staring directly at every feature of him and... He's actually kinda beautiful. His hair, his eyes, and (as weird as it sounds) his wrists and hands were all very attractive, and the more I kept staring at him, the more my heart started to throb. Unconsciously, I leaned forward just a little to get a closer look at him. Apparently I wasn't as stealthy as I thought I'd be because he caught me, "Um, Yuri, is everything alright with you?"

I leaned back, "Oh, um... Yeah, I..."

"You're completely red, dear. Are you sick?"

"No nothing like that all. I just think you're really beautiful. That's all-" I stopped right where I was, realizing what just slipped out of my mouth. Everyone remained silent, staring at me. Now my face was red in humiliation, and I almost wanted to join Tamaki in the closet. I could hear the twins whisper to each other, "Did he just flirt with Haruhi's dad?"

I inhaled, "I... I'm very sorry. That was inappropriate, wasn't it?"

"Inappropriate?" Ranka tilted her head, "Not one bit, darling. I'm flattered, really. I get compliments like that all the time."

 _It's not just Kyoya I like. It could be any man in any given shape or size._ I was finally hugging my knees to my chest, wanting to hide my face in them. _I really am gay._ "Oh, chin up, Yuri," Ranka made me look up, "There's nothing to feel bad about. I thought that was very kind of you."

"Thank you Mr. Fuji- I mean Ranka."

He gave a few gentle pats to my head, turning around and clasping his hands together, "Well, now that we've gotten all the introductions out of the way, how would you boys like to have a little bit of fun?"

Ranka led all of us out of the apartment, Honey-senpai questioning, "Where're we going, sir?"

"Just follow me," He whispered, "Quickly!"

"Wait," I broke in, "Before we go anywhere... Can all of you promise not to tell Haruhi what I said?"

They all broke out into murmurs of agreement, except for Kyoya, so I glanced over at him, "Kyoya?"

He nodded, "Yes, of course."

* * *

 **Okay, so the soundtrack to Rent has been a good motivation track to listen to when I was typing this chapter and the two previous ones. I don't know how a musical about poverty and HIV/AIDS inspires me to write a story like this (And it's also been giving me other ideas), but if it works then *shrugs* then I guess it works XD**


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

"You didn't tell me how the 'hangout' between you and Aiya played out," Kyoya commented, clearing the plates off the tables, and I followed to wipe them down. "Did everything turn out alright in the end?"

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged, "It was a little exhausting to be honest."

"I can imagine. Did you have fun at least?"

"I suppose. I'm just glad she didn't kiss me." I paused, "Or at least, she fell asleep before she could do it. But either way, it's good that it never happened."

Kyoya set the plates down gently on a silver tray, "What did you guys end up doing that day?"

"We sort of just spent the day wandering an old town. It was pretty cool. At the end of it, we went to have our fortunes read and... " I paused again, debating whether or not I should tell Kyoya about what the old sisters saw in my teacup. "It was interesting, to say the least."

"Really?"

"Yeah… Um…" _Well, what can I say that probably won't worry him?_ I cleared my throat uncomfortably, "As cheesy or weird as it sounds, they said I have a bright future ahead." _And I might have high chances of getting hurt by the so-called "ill events"._

"I'd take that as a good sign then."

"Oh believe me, I sure am."

I rolled up the wet rag in my hand and set down on the pile of plates, "So, what's Tamaki thinking about for the next cosplay? Sexy fireman? Paramedics that can revive anyone's heart with their looks?"

That earned a chuckled from Kyoya, and a small smile from myself. _I made him laugh!_ "Wasn't impressed by today's cosplay?"

"I just don't think it seemed popular with the ladies, and I thought it was just a little bit bland."

"I see. If you have any ideas, we're happy to hear them."

"Oh, I don't know. I can't even name entertaining places without making you guys fall asleep."

Kyoya glanced down at me, "Now who says I was falling asleep?"

At a loss for words, I struggled to find them, thinking that I might have offended him, "Um, well, I didn't know- I mean… Come on, Kyoya, my ideas are boring, aren't they?"

"Never said they were either."

 _I really can't win an argument with this guy, can I?_ Not that it bothered me anyway. In fact, when he says it with that grin, it makes me feel warm on the inside. "Well, thanks…" I looked away, feeling my cheeks go red.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Kyoya walked passed me, setting a hand on my shoulder, "It seems like we're all finished here. You coming to join us in the other room?"

"I'm right behind you," I managed to say as I felt his hand drag away from my shoulder. I could almost hear my pulse in my head. _Holy crap… He touched me!_ If this was some wacky cartoon in the 80s, my eyes would have turned into hearts by now. But I inhaled, trying to settle myself down so no one could see how flustered I looked. Though before I could follow Kyoya back into the main room, I felt another hand grasp my bicep. Upon feeling the contact, I gasped, breaking away from the grasp and turning around only to come face to face with the president of the Black Magic Club.

I let out a heavy exhale, "You scared me…"

"Did I?" Nekozawa chuckled darkly.

"Yeah. You got me… What do you want?"

"If I heard correctly, did you say you got your fortune read this weekend?"

"Um… Yeah…"

"What method did your reader use?"

"T-tea leaves. But they couldn't tell if it was an angel or a bat."

"Really…?" He only seemed to be getting interested by the second, his smile growing wider like the Cheshire Cat.

"Okay, really," I backed up a bit, "Why's this important to you?"

"Oh, my club has been practicing a few methods of divination ourselves. But it's nothing like the others."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, we've been trying to communicate with the deceased."

Why should I be surprised? "Oh," I nodded, "Okay. That's… Interesting."

"Ryota," For once I could see his eyes as got closer to me, "How would you like to volunteer to speak to the voices of the underworld?"

I choked on a laugh, "Volunteer? Are you kidding?"

"I don't kid."

"I'm sorry. But I'd rather keep my distance away with corpses and dead things."

"We require no corpses in these rituals... Otherwise we'd have a problem with the school."

I really didn't know what to say, or how to say no for that matter. But Nekozawa nagged on, "Our methods don't hurt one bit, Ryota, and the results you'll see might be more accurate than the ones shown in your teacup."

It was obvious he wasn't going to let me walk away from this option, so for the sake of his entertainment, I sighed, "Okay fine. But I swear if I see any ghosts or demons crawl out of the wall, we're done."

He chuckled, nervously this time, "Well, I can't promise that."

Soon enough, we began to walk towards the big, black door that stood out in the room. He opened it, telling me, "Watch your step."

Although impossible to see with the door shut behind us, I knew what he meant as I nearly slipped on something that I'm pretty was stuck to my shoe. "Nekozawa, what did I just step in?"

In the middle of the empty, dark space, I finally saw him flick a match against a match box, lighting a candle stick as he answered, "That would appear to be candle wax."

"Ever bother to clean it up?"

"Perhaps… If it didn't require so much light to see what we were doing."

"Ah, right…"

"Right this way, Ryota."

He gently latched onto the cuff of my sleeve, taking me further and further into the dark abyss. As we walked, I could feel small amounts of candle wax build up on my shoe until I was stepping on something soft and didn't make as much noise as the tiled floor. We finally came to a stop as I bumped into something about the height of my waist.

As Nekozawa lit another candle in front of me, it came to my realization that this was an altar. Not like an ordinary table covered by table cloth, but an actual altar. Okay, it's getting slightly freaky now. I exhaled heavily, tensing up slightly, but soon snapped out of it when I felt Nekozawa's fingers in my hair, plucking out a strand as I flinched away.

"What're you doing?" I hissed, almost in a whisper.

"All part of the process," He replied, he held it out, "After I burn this over the candle, you'll soon be able to hear the voices of the underworld. But your contact with them is very limited, so listen very carefully to what they have to say… And be calm!"

I placed my palms up on the altar, looking at him. _This is just a joke. This is just something silly they do for fun, so stay calm._

"Now, Ryota," He continued, "Are you prepared?"

"Sure…"

I watched him hover the strand of hair over the black candle, letting it burn until it was turned into ashes that were barely visible.

* * *

 *** Kyoya's POV***

"Why would he go in there again?" Tamaki whimpered in fear, "You don't think they tricked him into joining that club, do you?"

From the corner of my eye, I could see those mischievous smiles spread on Hikaru and Kaoru's lips. _And_ _here they go..._

"You know, boss. I've heard rumors about that club starting a new ritual of some sort."

"Yeah. They've been planning it for months, they just haven't found a right time to do it yet."

"What kind of ritual…?"

I turned around to face them, wondering how they were going to freak him out this time.

"From what I've heard," Hikaru began, "They were planning to resurrect a human corpse."

"All that was required was one student from this school."

"Does that mean they're gonna kill him?!" Honey-senpai was starting to get freaked out by this made up story of theirs, almost tear-ridden as he hugged his stuffed rabbit closer for some comfort.

"That's part of the ritual," Kaoru answered, "And if all goes according to plan, that means Yuri could be coming out of that room after all. But if not, then they're gonna have to pay the school big time to keep them quiet."

Both Tamaki and Honey-senpai ended up crying out in fear before breaking down into series of comments expressing their panic and fear. Haruhi really wasn't falling for this either, "Oh come on, senpai. You know that they're like this. By now I would've thought you could tell when they were joking about something or not."

Just as she finished her sentence, the door leading into the dark room swung open, and sure enough, Yuri was standing there, completely unharmed and blood-free. However, the expression on his face looked as if he'd seen a ghost, and I wasn't joking. His eyes were wide, he was pale and drenched in sweat, and it barely looked like he was breathing. All of us stayed silent as he took a step forward, looking like he was seconds away from dropping to his knees. He shook as he walked, and that's when I finally decided to walk forward before he could collapse.

"Yuri?"

He was unresponsive.

"Yuri, are you alright?"

He wasn't even looking at me; He didn't blink once.

"Should someone check his pulse?" Tamaki whispered, and from the corner of my eye, I could almost see him trying to hide behind someone. _Idiot._

"Yeah, Kyoya, you do it," The Hikaru and Kaoru commented, gesturing their hands for me to do so.

Tamaki waited in anticipation, peeking out from behind the twins' shoulders. Shaking my head in slight annoyance, I figured I'd do so if that would satisfy their needs, and one look at Yuri, I knew that the best thing to do was be cautious since he didn't seem to be in the present moment. Slowly and carefully, I reached for his arm. But before I could find the pulse in his wrist, it only took less than a second for him to react, jerking away and finally snapping out of his trance-like state.

"Yuri, it's okay-!" His eyes were on me now, looking at me as if I were a demon or some other monster.

"So… Is he actually-"

"No," I interrupted, "He's very much alive, Tamaki."

"Is he cold like a corpse or…?"

 _Oh, for God's sake_. "What's he talking about?" Yuri finally spoke, appearing to be back in the present moment despite quivering fearfully. Then it seemed as if almost everyone spoke all at once, and what came from their mouths were a series of questions revolving around the topic of Hikaru and Kaoru's made up story.

"So did they actually kill you?"

"Did it hurt to die?"

"What was their ritual like?"

"Did they stab you? Smother you? How'd they do it?"

"Did you volunteer?"

"What the hell are you guys saying?" Yuri finally asked, "You're acting like you're talking to a dead person or something."

"Well are you?"

Yuri gave them one look, as if he was standing in a room full of morons, "No." Then he walked off. For the remaining hour, rather than joining us to discuss ideas and projects, he isolated himself in the corner of the room, not exactly out of his initial shock phase from earlier, to which I couldn't help but worry. By the end of our service, while all the other hosts left, I stayed behind when I saw that he wasn't bothering to get up and follow everyone out. I walked over to him, noting how the tea that sat in his cupped hands appeared to be cold, indicating that he most likely couldn't bring himself to drink it at all.

Pulling up a chair from across from him, I joined him in watching the sun disappear behind the clock tower. "Yuri," I began, trying to piece my words together, "Are you...- You never told me if you were alright or not."

He didn't look at me as he answered with a question, "When did you ask me if I was okay?"

"Earlier. I guess you weren't listening when you were..."

"Oh, when I came back from that club? Right..."

"So... How are you feeling, anyway?"

"I... I don't know. Still a little shaken up?"

"From what? You didn't see an actually corpse in there, did you?"

"No. If I did, then they probably wouldn't let me live to tell it."

"Alright, so what did they do?"

He shook his head, "I don't know how I can tell you. You'll think I'm a total head case."

Knowing what kind of sort of "activities" occur within the Black Magic Club, I replied, "No, I won't. Please tell me?"

Yuri sighed heavily, sipping his tea to which he almost spit back into his cup, assuming that he finally noticed that he let it simmer down for too long. But he swallowed it back, "Um... Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Not particularly..."

"Oh, well bear with me then, this is gonna be a lot to take in."

I crossed my legs, sitting up straight as he began, "I... I have no idea how they did it, or how it happened but... I heard my mother, Kyoya. I didn't see her, I just- I heard her, and... I haven't heard her voice in like, five or six years- And I thought it was some kind of joke they were doing at first, but no one was laughing- No one could hear what she was saying... I don't know. I can't shake it off."

Curious to know more, I asked, "What was your mother saying?"

"That's when it gets even weirder. Sh-She said..." He grew quieter, "She said, 'Everything's going to be okay'... That's all she said." I noticed that his eyes were starting to get a little glassier, and when he blinked, beads of tears came streaming out of his eyes. The sight of his emotions made my heart twist, as if it wanted to squeeze out its own tears as well. But rather than looking away, I kept my both my eyes on him, almost wanting to reach out and hold him to offer him my own sympathy.

" _Dammit_..." Yuri whispered, "Sorry. I didn't mean to... Cry, I guess."

Rather than doing what gut wanted me to do, I reached in my pocket and pulled out my handkerchief (Not that I used it at all anyway), "You apologize a lot."

He looked at me, taking the handkerchief, and spoke with hesitance, "Sorry..."

"Don't be, really. There's no shame in crying."

He dried his eyes, "No one's ever told me that before."

"No one?"

"Not even once..." He closed his eyes, as if to prevent anymore tears from falling out. When he opened them, he stayed silent, and when he finally spoke, his voice was slightly cracked, "But it's nice to hear that. It really is."

Despite him giving me a smile, I still couldn't help but feel saddened by his words. Of course I kept it all hidden, but to hear him say that no one's told him that it's okay to cry was a little heartbreaking, because now, for all I knew, he could be bottling up any feeling that's eating away at him, and it could only be a matter of time before they all erupt like an active volcano. Then to hear him say that his deceased mother told him "Everything is going to be okay" makes me wonder what he could be going through for her to allegedly say something like that. I knew I couldn't push though, otherwise I would be giving him a reason to keep his distance away from me. On the other hand, somewhere in his eyes, there was a hint of joy that I've seen whenever he looks at me. At this, I grinned back, feeling a little bit of warmth as well.

"I'm glad," I finally said, "A-And research shows that crying is a healthy emotional release." _Did I just stutter?_

"Yeah?" Yuri sat up straight, "I'll keep that in mind next time." He sniffed, as if he were still choked up from his earlier emotions, and he let out a short, yet calm sigh, "Um... Thanks..."

"For what?"

"You know, for listening, despite how crazy I sounded."

"You didn't sound crazy. Do you feel better?"

"Better than before. It's weird how I always feel better when I just talk about something."

"It's better than keeping it in, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I suppose..."

As his words drifted off, the clock tower chimed, to which Yuri stood up, "Is it really five already?"

"So it appears," I commented.

Yuri began to walk away, "I'm an idiot. I should've been back home thirty minutes ago."

Though before he could walk out the door, I quickly stood up and turned around, speaking too quickly, "Yuri wait."

With his hand on the door handle, he looked back at me, patience in his eyes.

"Do you need a ride home?" I swallowed.

"Oh, no," He shook his head, "It's fine-"

"It might be faster than walking. It could get dark before you get home."

He was silent for a moment, an I could almost feel my palms get sweaty as I anxiously waited for an answer.

"Alright," He said quietly, nodding.

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter was a little silly. As much as I enjoyed writing it, I'm getting a little self conscious about my writing these days lol. Maybe at some point I'll do a deep revision to this story and make it a little better. Hope you guys are liking it so far though.**


	24. IMPORTANT UPDATE

**Hey there.**

 **Just thought I'd come here to clear some confusion for everyone that got this far into reading this. So, I made some revisions towards the beginning of the chapter, and some chapters that I thought were unnecessary were deleted. Nothing's wrong. The story's not broken. I just figured I'd make some adjustments that would fit my satisfaction. Nothing about the plot changes. Hope you guys are liking it so far, and I'll end by saying I'll have a new chapter up as soon as possible. Maybe I'll make some other adjustments while I'm at it. Thanks for reading!**

 **-BBG**


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